Home Away From Home

Anna, Korean name Kim Myong-hee. 43 years after her adoption to the United States, she visits a remote island in the Yellow Sea. There in Deokjeok Island live Suh Jae-song and In Hyun-ae, a couple who raised orphaned Anna as if she were their own. Their house on the island has two special rooms. One is a room full of records of all the children the couple sent for adoption. The other is a temporary home for all adoptees who come visit Korea later in life. The couple lived as foster parents for these children for 30 years since 1966. Together with a Catholic priest from the US, they sent 1,600 kids to the US for adoption. They sent Myong-hee, then 14-year-old, and her two brothers to a family in the US in the hopes of them living in a happy household under loving parents. But contrary to their wishes, Myong-hee’s life in America turns out to be a series of pain and misfortunes. For the first time in 43 years, Myong-hee talks about her painful memories.