Teen shares the highs and lows of adoption

Being adopted can be a “mystery of the past” for adoptees who may ask, “What would my life have looked like?” “What are the circumstances behind my adoption?” and “What is my birth family like – do I have siblings and do I look/act just like them?” 

For Tae-Woo Webb, 17, of Baton Rouge such answers may be found more than 7,000 miles away in Korea.

Webb was one of three children adopted from Korea by Lori and J.J. Webb of Baton Rouge. He was adopted from South Korea at four months old and lived with a foster family before being brought to the United States.

His two younger siblings, Neena, 15, and J.C.,14, were later adopted from Korea, all of them coming from different birth families and different Korean cities. 

Webb has always talked openly about his adoption with his family,  friends and even strangers. He speaks about his experiences at training workshops for parents seeking to adopt internationally presented by the Maternity, Adoption and Behavioral Health Department of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Baton Rouge. 

CCDBR administrators note Webb often fields the most questions from prospective adoptive parents because they want to hear his viewpoint.

“I’m an open book for the most part but my siblings are more private and that’s okay too. The most challenging part for me hasn’t been questions and comments or being treated differently, but rather dealing with the feelings surrounding my adoption. It can be hard for me to talk about the sad parts,” Webb said.

He and his family have traveled to Korea on three occasions since his birth. 

“I have spent time in my birth city and visited the hospital where I was born,” he said. “Each trip I have visited my foster parents and siblings. I want to connect with my birth parents but Korean law prohibits me from searching for my birth family until I am 19 years old. I would like to have a relationship with them and have some answers to my questions. 

“It’s sometimes hard not knowing all the details of my adoption and birth family.” 

Even with such challenges Webb faces as an adoptee, he also has had many positive experiences. 

“I’ve enjoyed our trips to Korea,” he said. “I love spending time with my foster family and the babies at the agency waiting to be adopted, eating a lot of Korean food, browsing markets and just being surrounded by the culture. 

“My memories from my first two trips are a little foggy as I was younger, but my most recent trip is something I will never forget. It was an amazing trip that I was fortunate enough to spend with my family.”

The Korean community in Baton Rouge also helps Webb connect to his birth country and culture.

“Another positive experience for me has to be the Korean martial arts class I took (at Kimm’s Institute Of Self Defense in Baton Rouge),” he said. “I earned my junior black belt in Han Mu Do. During that time, my family became really close with the founder and his family. We even call them our Korean grandparents, ‘halmeoni’ and ‘haraboji.’ 

“We have such a close relationship with them and their son, traveling to visit them even after they moved to Atlanta.” 

A member of Christ the King Church and Catholic Center in Baton Rouge, Webb and his family embrace a typical Louisiana life filled with LSU sports, trips to New Orleans, crawfish boils, kayaking, etc. 
He’s also a swimmer, rock climber, plays the trombone and has his eyes set on a successful future. An honor student at Baton Rouge Magnet High School, he is strong in academics and has received a presidential scholarship and accepted into the honors program at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, where he plans to study chemical engineering. 
And he credits his parents for being by his side as he seeks to find answers to his past while going after his dreams.

Webb concedes, “There have been times when I am mad at my parents where I wish I wasn’t adopted, or wish I was adopted into another family but I never would give up the family I have now. They have been here supporting me though all the good and bad times. They are always open and honest with me and supportive of my feelings.”