The Adoptees

The United States adopts more children than any other country in the world. The Census Bureau estimates that approximately one in 25 families has an adopted child.

However, the portrayal of adoptees in media has historically centered around the point-of-view of adoptive parents. Meanwhile, there is a growing focus on hearing from adoptees on their identities, adoption, and experiences.

As a Korean adoptee, I wanted to hear from others who are the most affected by adoption, in an effort to better understand my own experience.

Six adoptees in Eugene, Oregon, share their various experiences with identity, family, and culture as they reflect on what it means to be an adopted person.

Ellen Meyers, 22

Raised in Portland, Oregon | Domestic Adoptee | Closed Adoption

"I could have been adopted by anybody."

Hannah Hitz, 20

Raised in Oregon City, Oregon | South Korean Adoptee | Closed Adoption

"I usually identify as a Korean American adoptee."

Photographs by Kaylee Domzalski

Interviews and Audio by Kaylee Domzalski

Advisor: Sung Park

Elliot Bliss, 21

Raised in Salem, Oregon | South Korean Adoptee | Closed Adoption

"I wanted to just describe myself as Korean."

Lisa Bui, 43

Raised in Oregon City, Oregon | Vietnamese Adoptee | Closed Adoption

"Someone would say, 'Where do you come from?'"

Keith Frazee, 34

Raised in Dallas, Texas | Domestic Adoptee | Closed Adoption

"I do take a lot of pride in the fact that my kids look like me."

This is an ongoing project.

Kellie Hawks, 22

Raised in Portland, Oregon | Chinese Adoptee | Closed Adoption

"I'm more set in who I am and where I came from."