{"id":58322,"date":"2026-06-05T20:00:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T12:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=58322"},"modified":"2026-06-05T20:00:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T12:00:48","slug":"they-all-seek-their-birth-mothers-the-park-where-adoptees-leave-tags-of-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=58322","title":{"rendered":"They all seek their birth mothers. The park where adoptees leave tags of hope"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Dozens of Korean adoptees from North America and Europe gather to leave their names on a wall at a former US military base, hoping that, after decades, a birth mother might still be looking for them.<\/p>\n

They fasten ceramic nametags onto mesh that covers a cobblestone wall at Omma Poom Park \u2013 meaning \u201cmother\u2019s embrace\u201d \u2013 in Paju, South Korea.<\/p>\n

More than 900 tags, suspended like unsent letters, form a quiet monument to years of mass child-parent separations that have created what is likely the world\u2019s largest diaspora of adoptees.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many tiles that hang, and yet that is merely a small fraction of us that exist,\u201d says Nicole Rieth, who was adopted to the US state of Michigan in January 1989 when she was four months old.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as connecting with my birth mother, it\u2019s not about gleaning specific information from her or even necessarily seeking a relationship. I\u2019ve just always wanted to know who I looked like, because I\u2019ve never had that before.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Nicole<\/div>
Nicole Rieth, a Korean adoptee from the US, began searching for her biological family in 2024. Photo: AP\/ Lee Jim-man<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Each nametag, hand-painted by an artist, carries the adoptee\u2019s name, birth year and birthplace. Colours mark the decade of adoption; most are red and sky blue, for the 1970s and 1980s, when foreign adoptions peaked. White is for adoptees who died without reunions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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