Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

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.

Question 1 -
(This question applies to Korean Adoptees generally, but may vary by individual case):

Why does my English adoption paperwork say that I was “abandoned” with no birth parent information, but my Korean adoption paperwork has more specific information about my origin?

Answer: The answer to this question is unfortunately simple: it was easier for the Korean Adoption Agencies to write in the English adoption paperwork provided to the Western adoptive parents about their prospective Korean Adopted child that the child was “abandoned” in order to satisfy the Western legal definition of an “orphan”. Children who were not considered “orphans” could not be legally adopted to the West (the US, Europe, and Australia). By saying that children were “abandoned”, Korean Adoption Agencies could satisfy the Western legal definition of an “orphan”, and thus successfully get Korean children adopted to the West - even if those children had living birth parents or extended birth family members, and weren’t technically “orphans”.

This process was known as “Orphanization” which you can read more about here.

For KSS Adoptees ONLY: Read about how “Orphanization” was applied by the Korea Social Service specifically to KSS Adoptees on the Orphanization (Part I) page here.

For ALL Korean Adoptees: Read about how “Orphanization” was applied by ALL of the Korean Adoption Agencies to the majority of Korean Adoptees on the Orphanization (Part II) page here.

While there were likely many children who were actually abandoned, many children were voluntarily relinquished, not technically abandoned, by living birth parents or other birth family members, some of whom left their names and information with the birth / maternity clinics, hospitals, orphanages, adoption agencies (etc.) to which the children were relinquished. (Of course, not all children were voluntarily relinquished - many children were ‘acquired’. That’s a different topic…)

Many of the Korean Adoption Agencies secretly kept documentation about the more truthful origins of the children it sent for overseas adoption to the West, whom it officially said were “abandoned” on the English adoption paperwork provided to the Western adoptive parents. This secret documentation retained by the Korean Adoption Agencies was frequently written only in Korean and / or Hanja (Hanja was an older mix of Chinese and Korean, used more frequently in the 1970s and prior), and not in English (however, this could depend on the Korean Adoption Agency and on the individual Adoptee’s case). However, each Korean Adoption Agency had / has its own, secret system and in the vast majority of Korean Adoptees’ cases, accessing this secret documentation (if it even still exists in an individual’s case) can be an extremely difficult to impossible process. (It should be noted however that this is not the case for all Korean Adoptees - record keeping by Korean Adoption Agencies supposedly improved in the 1980s, but it definitely doesn’t mean that there weren’t problems even then).

Many Korean Adoptees suffer from the inability to gain access to their full adoption files when they visit their Korean Adoption Agencies in Korea. All of the Korean Adoption Agencies had / have issues with record keeping to varying degrees, depending on each agency and depending on the particular Adoptee’s case. As of around 1976, the 4 major Korean Adoption Agencies, each of which had a set of corresponding Western Adoption Agencies, were: Holt, ESWS, SWS (now KWS), and KSS (Korea Social Service). Holt, ESWS, SWS (now SWS) all still process adoptions from Korea.

Korean Adoptees should contact the Korean Adoption Agency through which they were adopted in order to initiate a birth family search. This website, Paperslip, is primarily by and for Korean Adoptees adopted through KSS (Korea Social Service) and its corresponding Western / US and European Adoption Agencies. Korean Adoptees adopted through other Korean Adoption Agencies - Holt, ESWS, SWS (now KWS) - should contact their relevant Korean Adoption Agency.

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Below is information specific to KSS (Korea Social Service) Adoptees ONLY:

IMPORTANT: Please do NOT contact KSS if you are NOT a KSS Adoptee / adoptive parent of a KSS Adoptee.

KSS stopped processing adoptions in 2012, however, KSS still has a Post Adoption Services building that remains on the site of its old campus in Seoul, where all KSS Adoptees’ files are stored, and where KSS Adoptees can still review their adoption file with a social worker in person.

KSS (Korea Social Service) Adoptees ONLY can request their Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary, the document which is most likely to contain more truthful information about their origins, from KSS via email. KSS Adoptees can learn more about that process on the Step By Step KSS Birth Family Search page here.

Question 2 -
(This question applies to Korean Adoptees generally, but may vary by individual case):

Can I trust that the information in my Western / English adoption paperwork is accurate?

Answer: *Generally, NO. DNA is the only truth in Korean Adoption. *However, we want to be careful to point out that while many Korean Adoptees’ Western / English adoption paperwork was deliberately falsified by the Korean Adoption Agencies, this does not mean that this happened in every single case. We do know instances where some accurate information (for example, the child’s birthdate) was actually true. However, in the vast majority of Korean Adoptees’ cases, information was deliberately falsified by the Korean Adoption agencies in the overall process of Orphanization. Please see Question 1 above for more information about Orphanization.

It is also important to note that you should never make any positive or negative conclusions based on paperwork alone. Please do not rule out any possibilities in your case based on paperwork alone. On the other hand, please do not assume that the information contained in either your English or Korean adoption paperwork is accurate. Without being in reunion with a DNA confirmed and communicative birth family member whom you can confirm to be telling the truth, it is impossible to know whether or not the information in your Western / English or Korean adoption paperwork is accurate or not. DNA is the only truth.

Because Korean Adoption Agencies often secretly kept more accurate information than they are willing to share with Korean Adoptees, it is important to contact your Korean Adoption Agency (frequently Holt, ESWS, SWS / now KWS, or KSS) via email to initiate a birth family search.

Question 3A -
(This question applies to Korean Adoptees generally, but may vary by individual case):

What is the difference between a Korean Adoption Agency and a Korean Orphanage?

Answer: The main difference between a Korean Adoption Agency and a Korean Orphanage is that, at least beginning around 1976, the only type of organization which was able to send children abroad for international adoption from Korea were Korean Adoption Agencies. Korean Orphanages, at least in most cases, could not send children abroad for international adoption by themselves starting around 1976, which is when the Korean government designated 4 major indigenous Korean Adoption Agencies: Holt, ESWS, SWS (now KWS), and KSS as the major entities able to send children abroad for international adoption.

Korean Adoption Agencies were connected to a network of “feeder orphanages” where children were housed prior to their adoption abroad. Some but not all of the 4 major adoption agencies had orphanages on site. (The Korean Adoption Agency KSS for example had its own on-site orphanage called the K.S.S. Receiving Home. However, KSS also had its own network of feeder orphanages as well which housed the majority of children prior to their eventual processing through KSS in Seoul, and did not rely on foster mothers to care for children until the 1980s).

Korean Orphanages may have had relationships with one or more Korean Adoption Agencies. For example, Nam Kwang Orphanage in Busan, one of the major Korean orphanages in that city, housed children for eventual overseas adoption through most if not all of the major Korean Adoption Agencies. For example, Nam Kwang is known to have been the source of children for adoption through both Holt and KSS (two of the major Korean Adoption Agencies). It’s likely that Nam Kwang was also the source of children from ESWS and SWS (now KWS), as it was a major orphanage in Busan.

There are of course exceptions to this rule. Prior to 1976, and probably even in cases afterwards, adoption was less “organized”, and prospective adoptive parents could simply go to a Korean Orphanage, and choose a child or children whom they wished to adopt. Such private adoptions are known to have happened throughout Korean adoption history, and are known as “named adoptions” - where a child who was selected for adoption by “naming” which child was wanted. Private adoptions appear to have been typically organized by a lawyer either in the Western country of the adoptive parent (the US, Europe, or Australia).

Question 3B -
(This question applies to Korean Adoptees generally, but may vary by individual case):

What is the difference between a Korean Adoption Agency and a Western (US, European, or Australian) Adoption Agency?

Answer: Each Korean Adoption Agency had its own network or list of corresponding Partner Western (US, European, or Australian) Adoption Agencies. The Korean Adoption Agency KSS for example partnered with these Partner Western Adoption Agencies.

Korean Adoption Agencies sourced children for international adoption from a variety of sources: orphanages (“feeder orphanages”), single unwed mothers homes, hospitals, maternity clinics / midwives’ clinics, the police, doctors, churches, and birth family members who relinquished children to Korean Adoption Agencies directly. In the worst case scenarios, children were sourced from places such as Brothers Home in Busan (trigger warning).

Korean Adoption Agencies would process the children for international adoption by cooperating with its network or list of corresponding Partner Western (US, European, or Australian) Adoption Agencies. The Korean and Western Adoption Agencies would collaborate to process the Korean exit visa and the Western entry visa for the child.

What makes things confusing is in some cases, the names and / or organizational structure of Korean Adoption Agencies and their corresponding Partner Western Adoption Agencies changed over time. For example, SWS is now KWS (which is often confused with KSS). Holt split into two entities - Holt Korea and Holt International (in the US) and around 1976, likely in order to remain an “indigenous” source of Korean children for international adoption when the Korean government decided to designate just 4 major indigenous Korean Adoption Agencies capable of processing international adoption to the West.

Question 4 -
(This question applies to Korean Adoptees generally, but may vary by individual case):

I don't know what my Korean or Western (US, European, or Australian) adoption agency was. How do I find out?

Answer: For US Adoptees who do not know what their Korean or Western (US) Adoption Agency and / or Orphanage was, the best way to find out is to file a FREE FOIA request. It takes several months to receive a FOIA request result, however we cannot more strongly suggest that Korean Adoptees (or any Adoptees who immigrated to the US) to file a FOIA request. Please be sure to click the FOIA link above for more information.

For European or Australian Korean Adoptees, we recommend that you talk to your adoptive parents, or, for those who are not in contact with their adoptive parents, you can always try contacting each of the 4 major Korean Adoption Agencies, all of which still offer Post-Adoption Services: Holt, ESWS, SWS (now KWS), and KSS. We highly recommend scouring any available adoption paperwork for information about what your Korean Adoption Agency might have been.

Question 5 -
(This question applies to Korean Adoptees generally, but may vary by individual case):

I don't know if my Korean or Western (US, European, or Australian) adoption paperwork is accurate or if it is falsified. What are my options for birth family search?

Answer: There are at least 2 best options which we detail below (in no particular order):

Option 1: Initiate a Birth Family Search through your Korean Adoption Agency in Korea via email.

Oftentimes Korean Adoptees are not aware that their Korean Adoption Agencies may have more information about their origin than the Korean Adoptee realized. It is important to initiate a Birth Family Search through your relevant Korean Adoption Agency if you are seeking to find birth family.

Option 2: DNA Testing

We believe that all Korean Adoptees who wish to find birth family should take DNA tests. Because so much of Korean Adoptees’ paperwork was deliberately falsified, and because Korean birth parents themselves may have given false information when relinquishing children, it is really impossible to know what is true or what is false in either the English or Korean adoption paperwork which Korean Adoptees may have. The only truth in Korean Adoption is DNA.

We most highly recommend taking 23 and Me (a paid test), and then transferring your raw data to FTDNA and MyHeritage for free. We also recommend that you take Ancestry (a paid test). You can also upload your raw data to GEDMatch.

23 and Me is the test which is most likely to give you the most amount of Korean matches, and is our preferred test. However, Korean Adoptees have found birth family members through ALL of the different commercial DNA tests (23 and Me, FTNDA, MyHeritage, Ancestry, and GEDMatch) so we cannot more strongly recommend that you take all of these tests. Please be sure to read more about DNA Testing here.

We strongly recommend that when you find relative matches, not to identify yourself as an Adoptee initially, until you get to know the relative. Telling a DNA relative that you do not know or do not know is adopted themselves is almost guaranteed to scare them off.