Busan is good

2025 Overseas Korean Adoptees Gathering Held in Busan – Experiencing Korean Culture in Their Homeland

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced today (November 10) that participants of the “2025 Overseas Korean Adoptees Gathering,” which began in Incheon, will travel to Busan tomorrow (November 11) for a four-day, three-night program to experience the culture and daily life of their homeland.

About 90 people—including 70 adoptees from 10 different countries visiting Korea for the first time since their adoption and 16 representatives from adoptee organizations—will visit Busan.

This year’s gathering serves as a meaningful opportunity for overseas adoptees to restore their emotional bond with their motherland and to reaffirm their Korean roots and identity. The event is being hosted in Busan for the first time.

Under the slogan “Connecting Our Roots, Building Our Future Together,” the gathering will feature a variety of programs designed to help participants understand the history of overseas adoption and strengthen solidarity for the future.

For many of the adoptees visiting Busan for the first time, the “Volunteer Program” and “Rural Experience Activities” will offer opportunities to cultivate a sense of Korean identity and to connect with local communities.

The “Volunteer Program,” organized in cooperation with the Busan Hope Dream Center and the Bapfor Sharing Community, will allow participants to directly engage in meal-serving volunteer work, experiencing the value of sharing. Additionally, they will participate in environmental cleanup activities at Haeundae Beach in partnership with the Haeundae-gu Volunteer Center, sharing meaningful time with the local community.

The “Rural Experience Activities,” held in collaboration with the Gijang-gun Rural Tourism Support Center, will offer hands-on experiences such as harvesting sweet potatoes and other traditional farming activities. Through these, adoptees will gain a deeper understanding of rural Korean culture, daily life, and emotional values.

Participants will also visit the United Nations Memorial Cemetery to lay flowers and attend a flag-lowering ceremony, reflecting on the meaning of peace and sacrifice.

On the final day, November 14, the closing ceremony will take place at Hotel Nongshim in Dongnae-gu.

During the ceremony, participants will announce the “Declaration of the 2025 Overseas Korean Adoptees Gathering,” which will express their commitment to contributing to the mutual development of Korea and the overseas adoptee community.

A “highlight video” capturing the journey of exchange and growth of the participants will also be shown, revisiting the significance of the event and sharing heartfelt stories and inspiring moments of the adoptees. The ceremony will conclude with a Busan promotional video to reinforce the participants’ appreciation of the city’s beauty, which they experienced firsthand.

Park Seol-yeon, Director General of the Women and Family Affairs Bureau of Busan Metropolitan City, stated, “This gathering marks both a homecoming for adoptees who grew up in various parts of the world and the beginning of a new journey. We hope that the meaningful experiences and encounters in Busan will remain a warm memory, making the city feel like a second hometown for overseas Korean adoptees.”