Josè Malcotti is an Italian adoptee from Rome. He is a leader in the Italian adoptee community and has returned to Korea 22 times. A passion for sports allows him to connect with adoptees from all around the world.
Tell us a bit about your background.
My name is Malcotti Josè Maria, and my Korean name is Park Yong-Duk. I was born in Seoul in 1972 and adopted to Italy in 1977. I grew up in a Catholic Italian family with two sisters and two brothers, all adopted. Three were adopted domestically in Italy, and two of us were adopted from Korea.
What are your interests?
My hobbies are tennis, soccer, and traveling. Through these sports, I am able to share my experience as an adoptee with Koreans living in Rome.
What do you do professionally?
I’m a tennis instructor. I started to play when I was 17 years old.
How has being adopted affected your professional life?
I think it provides a lot of benefits. Because I am Korean-Italian, I can comfortably teach tennis to both Italians and Koreans.
How has being adopted affected your personal life and relationships?
Sometimes I lack confidence with other people.
At what age were you adopted? What was your childhood like?
I was adopted when I was 5 years old. It was very hard at that time because I was one of two Asian children in my area. When I was 11 years old, my adoptive parents got divorced. However, our neighbors still respected us as did everyone at our church and school.
Do you have any memories of Korea before you were adopted?
Yes, I remember my Korean family: my father, my mother, and my older sister, but unfortunately, I don’t remember their faces. I remember my Korean house with an old, black-and-white television. I also remember the orphanage and the hospital I went to.
How connected to Korea were you as a child?
I never had a connection to Korea growing up. I never met Koreans, and I didn’t know much about the Korean adoptee community before 2004 when I made my first trip back to Korea to study Korean at Kyunghee University.
When did you start getting involved with the adoptee community? How has it benefited you?
It was 2009 when I participated in a trip to Korea sponsored by NIIED (the National Institute for International Education in Korea). I arrived with around one hundred other Korean adoptees from fifteen different countries.
Have you been back to Korea since your first visit?
Since 2004, I have been back to Korea 22 times. I enjoy going back to meet friends.
What are your ambitions and dreams for the future?
My dream is to work in both Korea and Italy and share my time between both countries.
I think I’m lucky to have been adopted to such a beautiful country, and also come from such a beautiful country.
