2025 Omma Poom Official Opening

 
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Omma Poom
Photos and messages submitted for the initial 2018 Omma Poom Park dedication ceremony.

 
 

Join us in Paju!

June 13-14, 2025

In a historic tribute to the Korean adoptee community, Paju City will officially open Omma Poom—the world’s first memorial park dedicated to Korean adoptees and their birth families—in June 2025.

Developed in partnership with U.S.-based nonprofit Me & Korea, Inc., the park offers a meaningful space for reflection, healing, and reconnection for thousands of adoptees returning to explore their roots and honor their histories.

 
 
 

Event Registration

Korean adoptees from across the globe are invited to gather in Paju to reflect on their shared experiences and honor their journeys.

This event is open to adoptees, adoptive and birth families, and the general public.

While the dedication ceremony is free to attend, Me & Korea is offering two packages for individuals who would like assistance with lodging and meals. Pricing varies based on whether you would like to include accommodations, or not.

REGISTRATION INCLUDING HOTEL ACCOMMODATION

The below pricing includes a one-night hotel stay, Friday dinner, Saturday breakfast and lunch, transportation (Seoul-Paju, within Paju), and activity fees.

REGISTRATION with meals only

  • Friday only, no hotel: $50 (includes dinner and transportation)

  • Saturday only, no hotel: $50 (includes lunch and transportation)

 

Omma Poom History

Park History
The city of Paju, Korea is located just south of Panmunjeom at the 38th parallel and Demilitarized Zone. Beginning in 2017, Paju began developing a memorial park named Omma Poom, dedicated to the approximately 200,000 children who were sent from Korea to be adopted and raised around the world. Set on the grounds of the former U.S. military base Camp Howze, the park’s location is equally significant. Originally established in 1953 and returned to South Korea in 2007, the transformation of this land into a memorial park marks a powerful shift from a history of division to one of reconciliation and healing.

In September of 2018, the park was formally dedicated at a ceremony attended by local government officials, adoptees from all over the world, birth families, and supporters of the adoptee community. For the dedication, Korean adoptees were invited to submit photos and letters with personal messages, to be displayed at the ceremony. Me & Korea received an overwhelming number of submissions, with 650 total photos and 60 letters contributed. More than ever, adoptees wanted to share, connect, and have their voices heard.

Since the dedication, work on the park has continued, with its formal opening set to take place in the summer of 2025.

A Space for Reflection and Healing
The park’s name, Omma Poom, carries deep significance: "Omma" means "mother" in Korean, and "Poom" evokes the comfort of a mother’s embrace. The park is designed to serve as both a tribute to the enduring bond between adoptees and their birth families, and a space for healing the wounds caused by decades of separation.