Abstract

Overseas adoption from South Korea is a widespread phenomenon in the West. Adoption studies have focused on early development and post-adoption adjustment during childhood and socioeconomic success during adult-hood. However, few studies deal with dating experiences and marital status of Korean adoptees, while these as-pects are a key factor determining subjective well-being and sociocultural integration. Several studies and popu-lar media highlight the status inferiority of Asian males compared to Asian females in the heterosexual Western courtship system. We therefore hypothesize that male Korean adoptees have more difficulties finding a partner than their female counterparts. Using a dataset stemming from a survey conducted among 290 adult adoptees living in the West, we indeed found that, after controlling for the effect of age and current income, males ex-pressed more difficulty in finding a partner and were more likely to be single than their female peers in their adoptive Western country. This gender disparity may have implications for policy makers who are concerned with general well-being of transracial adoptees and Asian minorities in the West.