Note:

*While this website is mostly geared toward Adoptees who were adopted through the Korean Adoption Agency Korea Social Service (KSS), there is also information here which is relevant to ALL Korean Adoptees, regardless of their Korean Adoption Agency. Please read carefully to note what info. is purely relevant to KSS Adoptees and what is generally relevant to ALL Korean Adoptees.

Finding Maternity / Birth / Medical Clinics + Hospitals.

Finding these places can be difficult, because most of them are closed. Here are some search tips.

Because KSS (like all Korean Adoption Agencies) typically only provide Korean Adoptees with the English phonetic spelling of Korean person or place names, we highly recommend that you request your complete Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary from KSS. The Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary is a 3-4 page document typically kept in the back of a KSS Adoptee’s adoption file at KSS’ Post Adoption Services building in Seoul, where KSS Adoptees can schedule an in-person file review. Please note that KSS often redacts birth parent information on the Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary.

These places are hard to track down, as many of them are closed, but it all depends. I recommend this little trick for searching:

The only reliable way to find out the former location of a closed birth / maternity clinic is to visit the area in which it was previously located in Korea, and to ask city hall officials or realtor’s offices for help with locating the site of these closed clinics. You will need a translator to go with you to a local city hall or realtor’s office.

Use Google to search the KAS site for your Maternity / Birth / Medical Clinics or Hospital:

  • Put your specific maternity clinic's name in the quotes " ". Or try the search term without quotes. 

  • In an example search for Lee Jung Ja Maternity Home, this is how I found someone on KAS and the same person on KAA who had the address of what we thought was Lee Jung Ja Maternity Home, but which turned out to more likely be the address of the Korea Christian Crusade Office. If you find someone who was at the same clinic through the KAS site or other means (such as Korean Adoptee Facebook groups), I recommend comparing adoption documents directly if possible, as information that you just talk about without looking at the actual documents is misleading. 

  • Also be sure to search on the Facebook forum Korean American Adoptees (KAA) for your clinic's name. 

  • Be advised that Adoptees are often provided only the phonetic English translation of a clinic’s name or former address, so it is difficult to track down on Google Maps. You may need to acquire the Korean version of the clinic name or address (if possible) and to use Naver Maps or Kakao Maps, which are Korean maps.

  • Also if you go to Korea, the best resource is local city hall offices. You may need a translator. These places are listed on Google Maps if you can find the general location of your clinic. They are often very helpful.

  • Good luck in finding your Maternity / Birth / Medical Clinic or Hospital!