Moment dad realises adopted son is a different nationality after 17 years

When John and Layla adopted a ‘perfect Chinese boy’, they made sure he knew his heritage growing up – 17 years later, they learnt the truth.

John remembered the rush of love he felt the first time he saw his son like it was yesterday – but in reality it had been 17 long years since that day.

The journey to meeting his son first started when John and his wife *Layla decided to pursue adoption after unsuccessfully trying for a baby.

They were paired with an ‘Asian couple’ who were unable to care for their baby son, Kidspot reports.

“We assured them that the child would be loved,” John wrote in a Reddit post that ended up being turned into a viral TikTok video.

“This was the truth because we instantly fell in love with our baby boy.

“However, after about eight months though we started to feel twinges of guilt.”

For more stories like this, go to kidspot.com.au

A dad’s Reddit thread on the moment he realised realises adopted son is Korean, not Chinese has been turned into a viral video. Picture: TikTok

The white couple had tried to immerse their adopted son into the Chinese culture as he grew up. Picture: TikTok

‘CONNECTION TO HIS HERITAGE’

The reason John and Layla felt guilty wasn’t because they regretted adopting their baby.

Instead, it was the simple fact that they, as white people, worried that they wouldn’t be able to integrate their son’s cultural heritage into their lives in the right way.

“Our perfect Chinese son was going to be raised in a whitewash household by two ding dongs,” John explained.

“We felt unable to provide him with any sort of connection to his cultural heritage and identity.”

So they decided to expose him to as much Chinese culture as possible – enrolling him in Mandarin classes and befriending a Chinese couple who became his ‘adopted’ auntie and uncle.

“We even took family trips to China every couple of years,” John added.

But when they were looking through his adoption paperwork to apply for university they made a shock discovery. Picture: TikTok

Their son was actually Korean not Chinese. Picture: TikTok

Want more stories like this? Sign up to our Kidspot’s newsletter

‘HUGE MISTAKE’

It wasn’t until the baby grew up – and prepared to leave for university – that John realised they had made a massive mistake.

It happened when the family were filling out some paperwork to receive financial assistance at uni.

“Digging through my office for the needed paperwork I came across his adoption papers and it was only then that I saw it,” John revealed.

“Something so obvious, so painfully brick-to-face obvious, something that neither my wife nor I, in the stupidity of our youth, had registered.

“The names on the adoption paperwork were Park and Kim (written in Korean). Our son was Korean.”

TIKTOK WEIGHS IN

It was at that abrupt point that John’s Reddit post came to an end – so we have no idea how his son reacted to this shocking news.

However, commenters on TikTok had plenty of reactions of their own.

“He’s getting into Harvard with that story though so it’s a win,” one person joked.

“BRUH, he could have learned Korean – it’s so much easier too,” another added.

“I thought you were going to say that the adopted ‘aunt and uncle’ where his biological parents. What a twist!” a third commenter added.

Others felt like the parents had acted badly by failing to ask their son’s biological parents where they were from.

“It is awful – but I think the fact they wanted him to feel in touch with his past makes them 1,000 times better than most.”

*Names have been changed

This article originally appeared on Kidspot and was reproduced with permission