Orphanization Part II.
This Section Applies to Korean Adoptees Generally, Regardless of Their Korean or Western Adoption Agencies.
*Please note that the concept of “Orphanization” applies to ALL Korean Adoptees, regardless of their Korean or Western (US, European, Australian, Canadian) Adoption Agencies.
(To see how “Orphanization” was specifically applied by the Korean Adoption Agency Korea Social Service (KSS) to KSS Adoptees, please see the “Orphanization” page).
”Orphanization” as it relates to Korean Adoptees generally means that the vast majority of us were given “Orphan Hojuks” (or Hojukdungbon) - the Korean equivalent of Birth / Family Registration documents. These documents often put the child (usually with a false / assigned name) at the head or “Family Chief” of her or his own family, which is an absurd concept that doesn’t exist outside of the adoption system in Korea. The Hojuk system for non-Adoptee Koreans is meant to connect an individual person to her or his family line. The purpose of the Orphan Hojuk (by contrast) was to sever the child from her or his family origins, which were often hidden - if known - by the Korean Adoption Agencies.
The birth / family registration system in Korea, even outside of the adoption world, is notoriously easy to falsify. This is an issue not only for Adoptees searching for their identity, but for non-Adoptee Koreans as well, even in modern times, as birth registration is still loosely regulated.
If you are a US Korean Adoptee, and you do not know what your Korean or Western Adoption Agencies were, we highly recommend that you file a FREE FOIA request.
Please note that starting around 1976, there were only 4 major Korean Adoption Agencies:
Holt Korea, ESWS (formerly ECWS), SWS (now KWS) and Korea Social Service (KSS).
What Role Did The Orphan Hojuk / Hojukdungbon Play In Orphanization And In Our Adoptions?
Was I Really An “Orphan”?
A key concept which many of us struggle to understand is the role of the Orphan Hojuk / Hojukdungbon in Orphanization and in our Adoptions. The concept of “Orphanization” applies to the vast majority of (though not absolutely all) Korean Adoptees.
This is because in order for Korean Adoptees to be considered legally adoptable to the Western receiving countries, a Korean child had to be considered an “orphan” according to the Western legal definition of an orphan. Korea chose to use “abandonment” as a common means to “orphanize” a child it wanted to send overseas for adoption, whether or not the child had known Korean birth family. And let’s not put all the blame on Korea - demand in the West was so high that the Korean Adoption Agencies’ Partner Western Adoption Agencies in the US and Europe are said to have put repeated pressure on Korea to send more children through their adoption agencies in times of periodic adoption slowdowns.
The orphan hojuk, unlike traditional regular Korean Hojuks, placed the “abandoned” child as the Head or Family Chief in their one person Orphan Hojuk. This type of document does not exist in Korea outside of the Korean Adoption system. The purpose of a regular Hojuk is to connect an individual to her or his family. The purpose of Orphan Hojuk, by contrast, was to bureaucratically sever the child from her or his birth parents, and declare the child an “orphan”, which thus rendered her or him legally adoptable to the West.
Please note that there are Korean Adoptees who truly were abandoned. However, “thanks” to orphanization, it is impossible to know whether or not one was actually an “orphan” or not, without being in reunion with DNA confirmed birth family members whom one knows to be telling the truth about one’s origin.
For this and many other reasons, we cannot more strongly recommend that Korean Adoptees take all available DNA tests.
Below:
Orphan Hojuk / HOJUKDUNGBON (Family Registration): A Primary Document of Orphanization.
Please note that the style of this document may vary per Korean Adoption Agency.
Please note that other documents were also involved in the Orphanization of a child. However the primary document we discuss here is the Orphan Hojuk (Hojukdungbon).
We Recommend That ALL US KSS Adoptees File a FOIA Request.
For US Adoptees: In order to get the most possible information regarding your adoption, you can file a simple and FREE FOIA request. Learn how to file a FOIA request here.
For Korea Social Service (KSS) Adoptees ONLY:
Please Note: Filing a FOIA request is not the same as starting a Birth Family Search with KSS. Learn how to start a Birth Family Search with KSS here.
*For all other (Non-KSS) Korean Adoptees, please see:
Birth Family Search Tips For ALL Korean Adoptees (Regardless of Their Korean / Western Adoption Agency)