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july 2014August 2014 An oasis out of the ashes At home in Korea Smoothie party! june 2014 Down the Marmot’s Hole More than cod Urban exploration Itaewon freedom Reflections on a restaurant Get your garden growing Cover illustration by Wilfred Lee Design by park Seong-eun O u R P a S T T H R E E I S S u E S In the midst of Korea’s rousing economic upswing, there’s one leading export that is more troubling than impressive: children for international adoption. Though adoption is often seen as a positive solution to a common social problem — children need parents, and there are many who are happy to step in — the supply for such a “natural resource” raises questions about who the mothers are, what pushes them to give up their children and the barriers prevent- ing adoptees from finding their birth parents. C O V E R Read the story on page 34. Uniting family