Approved for Adoption (2012) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

Across childhood, adolescence, and a return to Korea, Jung searches for belonging while the circumstances of his adoption remain uncertain.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

A File Sends Jung Abroad

Jung's account begins with his departure from Korea and the adoption file that classifies him. After an initial family rejects him, he is welcomed into a Belgian household.

Key Events

• Jung Introduces His Story — Jung recounts leaving Korea at five and returning nearly forty years later. Characters: Jung (voice) Location: Unspecified
• Adoption File Wording — The file's phrases include “good for adoption” and “honey-colored skin.” Characters: Jung (voice) Location: Unspecified
• First Family Rejects Jung — An initial adoptive family rejects Jung before he is brought to Belgium. Characters: Jung (voice) Location: Unspecified
• Welcome in Belgium — Jung is welcomed into a Belgian household with adoptive parents and several children. Characters: Jung (8 ans) (voice), La mère (voice), Le père (voice) Location: Belgium

Growing Apart and Drawing

Jung struggles with language, family belonging, and the way others mark his Korean identity as different. Conflict with his father damages trust, while drawing gives him a private outlet.

Key Events

• Struggling with Language — Jung struggles with the language and his place in the family. Characters: Jung (8 ans) (voice) Location: Belgium
• Korean Identity Stands Apart — Relatives sometimes treat Jung's Korean identity as something that sets him apart. Characters: Jung (8 ans) (voice) Location: Belgium
• Closeness with a Sister — Jung shares affectionate closeness with a sister while sometimes doubting that he belongs. Characters: Jung (8 ans) (voice) Location: Belgium
• Stealing Accusation — An accusation of stealing damages trust between Jung and his father. Characters: Jung (8 ans) (voice), Le père (voice) Location: Unspecified
• Altered Report Card — The discovery that Jung altered his report card further damages their trust. Characters: Jung (8 ans) (voice), Le père (voice) Location: Unspecified
• Drawing Becomes Refuge — Jung turns to drawing to shape a world of his own and express difficult feelings. Characters: Jung (8 ans) (voice) Location: Unspecified

Leaving the Family Home

Adolescence brings questions of attraction and complicated feelings about his sister. Jung leaves home, while his father leaves open the possibility of his return and his sister says the home feels changed.

Key Events

• Adolescent Uncertainty — As an adolescent, Jung wrestles with attraction and complicated feelings about his sister. Characters: Jung (17 ans) (voice) Location: Unspecified
• Jung Leaves Home — Jung decides to leave home, and his father tells him he can return if unhappy. Characters: Jung (17 ans) (voice), Le père (voice) Location: Family home
• Home Feels Different — Jung's sister admits that home feels different without him. Characters: Jung (17 ans) (voice) Location: Family home

Searching Korean Origins

Years later, Self returns to Korea and finds that the surviving records cannot settle key facts about his birth and adoption. He considers the historical circumstances of abandonment and wonders where he belongs.

Key Events

• Return to Korea — Years later, Self returns to Korea to understand the circumstances of his adoption. Characters: Self Location: Korea
• Uncertain Adoption Records — Documents leave his name, birth date, arrival, and parents' fate uncertain. Characters: Self Location: Korea
• Context of Abandonment — Self learns about abandonment amid war, poverty, and social stigma. Characters: Self Location: Korea
• Searching Seoul Faces — Self watches passersby and wonders whether Koreans see him as one of their own. Characters: Self Location: Seoul

An Unfinished Search

Self imagines a possible story for his birth mother but remains uncertain about his father and origins. A sister's visit offers a chance to reconnect, yet his feelings remain difficult to express.

Key Events

• Imagined Birth Mother — Self imagines his birth mother as loving and forced to give him up, while his ideas about his father remain uncertain. Characters: Self, La mère (voice) Location: Seoul
• Difficult Family Reunion — Living away from family, Self's sister visits and tries to reconnect, but he struggles to express his feelings. Characters: Self Location: Unspecified
• Origins Remain Unresolved — Jung's search for belonging continues without a resolved family history. Characters: Jung (voice), Self Location: Unspecified

Story Breakdown

• The Adoption File — Jung's life is framed by the words and gaps in his adoption records.
  • File Description — The file describes Jung as “good for adoption” and notes his “honey-colored skin.”
  • First Rejection — An initial adoptive family rejects him before he is brought to Belgium.
• Welcome in Belgium — Jung enters a new household but struggles to understand his place within it.
  • Adoptive Household — Adoptive parents and several children welcome Jung into their home.
  • Language Struggle — Jung has difficulty with the language and fitting into family life.
• A Divided Belonging — Family closeness coexists with Jung's sense of being marked as different.
  • Korean Identity — Relatives sometimes treat Jung's Korean identity as a point of difference.
  • Sisterly Closeness — Jung shares an affectionate bond with a sister while remaining unsure he belongs.
• Trust and Drawing — Trouble at school strains Jung's relationship with his father, and art becomes an outlet.
  • Damaged Trust — A stealing accusation and an altered report card damage the trust between Jung and his father.
  • Private Refuge — Drawing lets Jung shape a world of his own and express feelings he cannot easily put into words.
• Leaving Home — Jung's adolescence leads him to leave the family home amid complicated feelings.
  • Adolescent Conflict — Jung wrestles with attraction and his complicated bond with his sister.
  • Departure and Return — Jung leaves, his father says he may return, and his sister says home feels different without him.
• Return to Korea — As an adult, Self seeks information about his adoption and the life he left behind.
  • Uncertain Documents — Surviving records do not establish his name, birth date, arrival, or whether his parents were dead.
  • Historical Context — Self learns that war, poverty, and social stigma contributed to children being abandoned.
• Questions of Origin — Self searches for a sense of recognition and imagines possible explanations for his birth family's absence.
  • Seoul Passersby — Self wonders whether people in Seoul see him as one of their own.
  • Imagined Mother — He imagines his birth mother as loving and forced to give him up, while his ideas about his father remain uncertain.
• An Unfinished Reconnection — A sister's visit offers contact, but Jung's difficulty expressing his feelings leaves the larger search unresolved.
  • Sister's Visit — Jung's sister visits and tries to reconnect with him.
  • Continuing Search — Jung continues seeking belonging while his origins and family history remain unresolved.

Directed by

Jung-sik Jun, Laurent Boileau

Key Cast

• William Coryn — Jung (voice)
• Christelle Cornil — La mère (voice)
• Jean-Luc Couchard — Le père (voice)
• Arthur Dubois — Jung (8 ans) (voice)
• David Macaluso — Jung (17 ans) (voice)