Sources of KSS Orphans + Orphanage List.

Where did we come from?

Where did KSS get children to send for international adoption?
What does “relinquishment” mean?

We came from many sources in Korea.



Some of us were relinquished directly to KSS in Seoul, and some of us were relinquished to KSS feeder orphanages in or outside of Seoul. Some of us came from birth or maternity clinics, unwed mother’s homes, hospitals, churches, police stations, or were found abandoned on the street.

We use the term “relinquishment” to describe when a child is given up by birth family or other non-related individual/s (such as police officers, doctors, midwives, citizens, etc.) to an Adoption Agency (such as KSS in Seoul) or to a feeder orphanage in or outside of Seoul.

Not all children sent for adoption were voluntarily relinquished. Many children were foundlings - in other words, children found on the streets, then processed by police and taken almost immediately to orphanages.

Children were also abducted, and many birth families were pressured or coerced into relinquishing their children for adoption, with promises of a better life, or other more underhanded means.

Korean Adoption Agencies could have gotten children from anywhere in Korea, through many different means.

KSS Feeder Orphanages.

Please see this link for a list of Korean orphanages whose adoption records have been digitalized by NCRC. Not all KSS “feeder orphanages’” files have been digitized by NCRC. For more information on how to use NCRC for Birth Family Search, please click here.

  • The K.S.S. Receiving Home in Seoul (This is what people commonly call “KSS”. It is often referred to on adoption documents as the “K.S.S. Receiving Home”.

  • The Nam Kwang Children's Home in Pusan | Website | Address: 15 Nopo-dong, Geumjeong-gu, Busan, South Korea | Email: nk1946@nkwelfare.kr

    • Nam Kwang does not appear to have complete adoption files for children in a folder such as KSS or other Adoption Agencies do. Instead, they have various types of intake documents, such as single parent counseling forms, police reports, general intake documents (which may list when children died or when adoptions were cancelled) and other types of documents such as relinquishment forms or letters. So there is no one folder with information per adoptee - rather, they have various types of documents bound together in different paper ledgers.

      Nam Kwang does not have a complete Adoption File on Adoptees. However, they have the original source material on which the Adoption Agency adoption files were built.

      Nam Kwang has computerized data and they can search for a child at least by name and birth date on their computers. Their documents were digitized by a third party at some point.

      Nam Kwang has original files that are stored in a separate area than the office where file reviews are conducted.

      Nam Kwang still is a functional facility which has children in its care.

      It seems that Nam Kwang is willing to provide copies of documents when they are available.

      According to a trusted source in Korea:

      "Nam Kwang doubled as the Busan city facility handling “foundlings”, so there would have been a ton of children who could be easily documented as relinquished.

      Nam Kwang is so interweaved with adoptions that in some government documents, the orphanage is described as an 'adoption-related' facility.”

      In other words, Nam Kwang was a place that lost / "lost" children were taken when "found". Instead of trying to find the parents of lost children, the facility mainly put these children up for adoption.

  • The Star of the Sea Children’s Home in Incheon

    • Website

    • email as of 2019: hschild1894@naver.com

    • Website about Star of the Sea Children’s Home:

      • First Location: Dap-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon

        • Address Change History: 159-1, Yonghyeon-dong, Nam-gu, Incheon

        • Current Location: [183-6 Yonghyeon] 15 Inha-ro 91-gil, Nam-gu, Incheon

        • Chinese Characters: 海星 保育院

        • Alternative name: Jemulpo Orphanage

      • [Definition]

        It is a child welfare institution, located in Nam-gu, Incheon, which helps social integration by helping child cure, protection, growth and self-reliance.

      • [Establishment]

        Star of the Sea Childrens Home was established in order to help child's healthy growth. These children are either neglected or from dissolved family or have parents with malfunction. Moreover, it is Incheon national adoption agency that contributes to adoption family counseling and follow-up service in support of adopted child. Also, it helps family function strengthening support through healthy family community education, and is a leading figure in life respect service through single parent counseling

      • [Construction Details]

        On September 18th 1894, Jemulpo Orphanage was established by Sister Marie Clements, Sister Emmanuelle, and Sister Saverio from France. They tried to help and protect children with no home

      • [Transition]

        In 1894, orphans stayed in a room, where Sisters used to live in. However, as the number of orphans increased, new building with the size of 396.69㎡, was built. It was directly managed by convent. Later on October 27th 1924, it was registered as a foundation, and by May 10th 1926, it was approved as Catholic orphanage in accordance with Joseon Government-general Policy. In 1932, it was reconstructed into two-story brick house, and renamed from Catholic Orphanage to Catholic Childcare Center.

      • On October 14th 1935, it opened a hospital in affiliation in support of childcare center management. Furthermore, by 1937, it was again reconstructed into three-story modern building. In April 1945, it took care of children in Seosan-si, Chungcheongnam-do in accordance with city population introduction policy of the Japanese Empire. After the liberation, it returned to Incheon in November 1945. On April 30th 1946, it was officially registered as welfare facility (childcare center) by Korean Government.

      • On December 15th 1948, the Head office, located in Dap-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon, established Star of the Sea Childrens Home detached building in Yonghyeon-dong, Nam-gu, Incheon. The head office and detached building were separately managed as daycare center for children and infants facilities respectively. On April 5th 1958, new 3rd building with the size of 349.09㎡ was built by expanding the detached building in Yonghyeon-dong, Nam-gu, Incheon. In addition, nursery school child was separately accommodated. On November 14th 1962, it was transferred and managed under the Diocese of Incheon foundation. In 1964, 7th building was constructed in Yonghyeon-dong, Nam-gu, Incheon. Subsequently, Korean-style house 3rd building was constructed, summing up to ten buildings in total. On July 11th 1966, Yonghyeon-dong Branch became an administratively independent branch. On December 1st 1973, the Diocese of Incheon Foundation was renamed to Catholic St. Paul Monastery Maintenance Foundation. In 1975, last child was transferred from Dap-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon to Yonghyeon-dong, Nam-gu, Incheon. As a result, it was responsible for nursery school and children home. The head office, located in Dap-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon, was integrated to Branch in Yonghyeon-dong, Nam-gu, Incheon. Currently, Star of the Sea Childrens Home headquarter can be seen as Catholic St. Paul Monastery Maintenance Foundation, located in Myeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul. The original facility, used to be in Dap-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon, was operated as Star of the Sea Childrens in [183-6, Yonghyeon-dong] 15, Inha-ro 91beon-gil, Nam-gu, Incheon.

      • Later on May 1st 1975, Star of the Sea Childrens Home received a presidential citation as an outstanding child welfare work and exemplary facility. On June 30th 1983, it was reconstructed into a new building with various welfare facilities, including handicapped room, treatment room, counseling room and single parent room. From 1987, it was designated as Star of the Sea Temporary Shelter. Since then, it was responsible for either adopting children (poor, missing, and protection required child) or making them return home, after protecting and nurturing them temporarily. In April 1987, after the old 4th building was demolished, modern building was established by constructing a new park instead. In this place today, there are St. Paul Kindergarten and group home sunflower home. Also, it established play psychotherapy and sand treatment room, and operates Solsam Nauri Child General Welfare Center. In October 31st 1994, St. Paul Kindergarten was built in celebration of Star of Sea Childrens Home's 100th In September 200; it was selected as the best facility in national daycare center for children evaluation. Moreover, since May 2004, Star of Sea Childrens Home has operated group home sunflower home. Also, in March 2004, it opens play psychotherapy room. In addition, in 2006, it opens sand play treatment room as well. On April 17th 2008, it held the opening ceremony of Solsam Nauri Child General Welfare Center

      • [Organization]

        As for the child care directors in 2012, there were Park Myeonghui and 62 employees, including one secretary-general, two social workers, one adoption counselor, 49 life aider, two office workers, two nurses, one nutritionist, one cook, one hygiene worker, and safety manager. Also, as for the maximum capacity of the facility, it is 105 children. Under the motto of 'Healthy, Happy, Justice,' as a family replacing service facility, it performs various functions in support of social integration of children.

      • [Current Status]

        As of 2012, Star of Sea Childrens Home has a pottage of 15,573.30㎡ and total floor area of 3,983.91㎡, and 11 modern buildings. It employs not only welfare facilities, including handicapped room, treatment room, counseling room, and single parent room, but also children temporary shelter.

  • The Kyonggi Social Service Center in Suwon

  • The Choon Hyun Baby Home / Choon Hyun Babies Home in Kwang Ju (Gwangju / Jeolla Province - not to be confused with the similarly named home in Seoul). | Website | Address: 210 Yangnim-dong, Nam-gu, Kwangju, South Korea

    • Article with extensive photos about Choon Hyun Babies Home in Gwangju

    • *See additional article about Choon Hyun Babies Home in Gwangju below

    • Current Director as of 2022: Mrs. Hye Ryang YOO

    • Choon Hyun Babies Home in Gwangju is still open and the Director, Mrs. Hye Ryang YOO, was a social worker at KSS in 1975 prior to transferring to Choon Hyun Babies Home in Gwangju in 1976. Her mother-in-law Mrs. Soonie PARK was the founder and Director of CHBH in Gwangju, and when she passed away, Mrs. Hye Ryang YOO became Director. Mrs. Hye Ryang YOO may be listed as a translator on some of your adoption documents if you were at KSS around 1975 / 1976.

    • It may be that KSS' US Partner Western Adoption Agency Lutheran Social Services (LSS) of Minnesota as well as the Netherlands had a connection to CHBH in Gwangju (see article translation below). LSS was where KSS Founder Kun Chil Paik interned when he studied at the University of Minnesota in the 1950s.

  • Church Social Service Choong Nam in Hong Song / alternately: Church Social Service of Choongnam, KSS’ partner agency in Hongsung-kun, Choongchungnam-do

    • Korean Name: 홍성사회복지관

      • Update January 28th, 2024: According to a Danish KSS Adoptee: "According to (Paperslip) you have listed Church Social Service Choong Nam as Hongseong Social Welfare Center. I can confirm this is correct. I stayed at the place for a month or so, before arriving at KSS in Seoul. I visited the place many years ago. They were very nice and helpful in finding more information." 

      • Previously we had written - now this is CONFIRMED:

        We believe strongly that Hongseong Social Welfare Center / 홍성사회복지관 is the current place that used to be called Church / Christian Social Service of Choongnam located in Hongsung:

        Website:         http://hsswc.kr/

        The site will translate to English on a laptop.

      • Korean Name: 홍성사회복지관 / The translation of "홍성사회복지관" is "Hongseong Social Welfare Center."

      • PLEASE SEE MORE INFO AND PHOTOS BELOW

  • Good Shepherd Convent in Chun Cheon

  • Daejeon Bethel Won (대전벧엘원) / Bethel Orphanage (벧엘보육원)

  • Central Jongwha Home for Children 

  • Bethany Orphanage (Now Sarang House): Website

UPDATE: May 16th, 2024:

NEW! “Shin Ahn Koo Do Jae Saeng Won Orphange” in Mokpo City - Likely: 신안보육원

NOTE: Please verify with this orphanage location and identification with a Korean translator - however, we are pretty sure that this is the current address - the orphanage may have moved from an original location in the 1980s (according to KSS):

https://www.google.com/maps/place/%EC%8B%A0%EC%95%88%EB%B3%B4%EC%9C%A1%EC%9B%90/@34.8795736,126.2790593,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x3573bd96f30b6b73:0x97780714d221c431!8m2!3d34.8795692!4d126.2816342!16s%2Fg%2F1w0h5f3r?entry=ttu

The Korean Name of the Orphanage (according to the Google Link above) is now likely: 신안보육원

Please note that the Google Maps address above was NOT provided by KSS - however, the website which KSS provided for this orphanage matches the website of the Google Maps location above. However, the website of the orphanage does not appear to work. There is a contact phone number on the Google Maps link above. We recommend calling ahead to verify that this is the correct location.

Website (not working as of May 16th, 2024): http://jncsw.org/sinan/
Phone: +82 612719635 | Alternate Possible Phone Number: 061-271-9635

The former location of this orphanage may have been (according to KSS):
Shin Ahn Koo So Jae Saeng Won Orphange
#92 Jook Gyo 3 Dong, MokPo City

This link has more Mokpo Orphanage Names and Addresses - please note, we do not know which of these places are or are not connected to KSS:
https://kkoom.org/jeonnam.pdf

Description of KSS Feeder Orphanages.

A KSS Adoptee shared and translated a Dutch Wereldkinderen article about KSS.

It is the most comprehensive description of KSS and its Feeder Orphanages we have seen. However, we do not know if there were other orphanages are part of KSS’ pipeline for adoption.

~

Page 6

Chapter 2

Children's Homes

There are quite a few homes in Korea where children who are now in the Netherlands have stayed for a short or longer period of time. We will describe a number of them, although we do not know as much about each home.

Almost all children have spent the last days or weeks before departure in the Korea Social Service home in Seoul. An exception to this are the children who have been taken directly to the airport by their families. (This can be checked on the basis of the child report, the so-called adoptive child study summary. If it is stated that the child is staying 'till the present' with a parent or grandparent, then most likely the child has only been in the KSS home for a medical examination and a photo. After which it went back with his family.)

The KSS Home in Seoul
Note: This is what is commonly referrred to by Adoptees as “KSS” or “The K.S.S. Receiving Home” on adoption documents.

The Korea Social Service was founded by Mr. Paik Kun Chil, a refugee from North Korea. As a social worker he cared about the fate of children who lost their families in the violence of the Korean War (1950-1953). Mr. Paik, called 'a great personality and an outspoken childhood friend' by the people who knew him, bought a site on which facilities were built in which the children could be cared for. This is how the Korea Social Service was born, an institution that to this day cares about the fate of abandoned children. Since the death of Mr. Paik in 1985, Mr. Kim Young Hee has been the director of the children's home. Where the first few barracks were where the children and their carers stayed, in 1972, with the support of the Memisa and the Foundation Support a child in Korea (‘Stichting Steun een Kind in Korea’), a beautiful children's home in Korea was built. It is located on the outskirts of Seoul in the Ui Dong district, which used to be a rural area but is now increasingly enclosed by houses, offices and hotels due to the expansion of the city. From the site you can clearly see how Seoul lies in a valley between gray-green mountains.

The KSS Reception Home is a large home with a striking blue tiled roof that, certainly in the past, could already be seen from afar. It is therefore known in the area as 'the house with the blue roof'. It consists of a main building and a number of outbuildings enclosing a playground with climbing frames. Because the adoption of Korean children almost stopped shortly after the Olympic Games, there are now only a dozen children living there, but in the time when hundreds of children came to the Netherlands every year, the home was always full. Sometimes more than two hundred children lived there. The children lived in peer groups of the same age, which meant that siblings were often not together in the same group. In the main building were rooms for babies up to three months, rooms for babies up to nine months and rooms for toddlers. The toddlers and older children lived in the outbuildings. The KSS house was a transit house; all the children were there temporarily. Some children were there only for medical care, others because they could not live at home temporarily, but most children because they went abroad for adoption. The babies slept in cots, sometimes there were as many as thirty cots in a ward. Clear, clean beds, a colorful mobile above them, a name tag at the head of the head and next to each child's head a small foam cushion with a recess in which exactly a bottle could fit. With two or three caregivers out of 30 children, there was no time to pick up and feed each child every few hours. This only happened with the bad drinkers and the sick children. The big babies, toddlers and children slept on the heated floor in the ward where they also stayed during the day. (All houses in Korea have a very ingenious underfloor heating system called ondol. Outside the house is a stove and from there pipes run under all floors.)

The home usually did not have many toys and if there were, it was not used very often. The caretakers often lacked the time to teach the children how to deal with it and to settle the ensuing quarrels (understandable if children have never owned much).

End of Page 6 / Start of Page 7

The caretaker occasionally occupied the children with games and songs. Much more attention had to be paid to feeding and cleaning the children.

The Nam Kwang Children's Home in Pusan

The Nam Kwang home is located just outside Pusan, the large port city in the south of the country, and has a beautiful view over a valley. The white home with an unremitting diaper wash on the roof is surrounded by coniferous trees and pink flowering hibiscus bushes, the city flower of Pusan. There is a playground with a swing, a seesaw and a slide. During a visit to the home in 1979, the babies were in paintless beds, sometimes so wide that four or five babies could lie next to each other. In the toddler rooms a caretaker took care of about twenty children. There were some toys, some children had coloring books, and one of the halls had a piano. Upstairs were the rooms for the older children where they lived and slept. The pillows and blankets spread out at night were hidden behind a curtain, the school uniforms hung on the wall. In the study halls there were low tables where the boys and girls sat on the floor to do their homework. In the dining room, the children sat on long tables on benches. Twice a week the children went to the small Presbyterian church.

A Dutch lady who lived in Pusan from 1982 to 1987 regularly went to Nam Kwang to help the carers in their task. She tells about this: “In those years there was one carer for every twenty children. They were usually young girls of about fifteen years old who had grown up in the home themselves. They weren't actually employed, they just lived with the kids 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They only had a day off every now and then. Because they had grown up in the home themselves, they had not gathered much knowledge about upbringing. They were especially concerned about the nice attractive children and left the pathetically crying children a bit to their own devices. There were few toys, but now and then the caretakers played a song or a game with the children. There was a television in every room and that was on all day. The children rarely went outside. At night the children slept around the caretaker on the floor.

In the home they got up at six o'clock. The children were given three hot meals a day. The food was good and plenty. The children went to school from the age of four. Once a week I would 'cuddle' in the house. The babies in particular were lifted far too little. They got their bottle in their bed. One by one I took the children on my lap for a while. The children loved it! They lay very quietly in my arms until it was time for the next one.”

Because it is forbidden to abandon a child, parents in Pusan left their child on the street at night. The police brought these children (an average of 2 or 3 children per night) to the Nam Kwang City office: a small room on the fifth floor somewhere in the center, with a desk, a few chairs and a bunk bed. Upon arrival, details of the child were recorded. When no one came to pick them up, the children were taken to Nam Kwang the next day. The babies of unmarried mothers were usually born at Nam Kwang Children's hospital. From there they went to the home as 'foundlings’. The administration of the children in this home has always been very brief. It was not until after 1980 that data on children started to be kept more carefully.

The Star of the Sea Home in Inchon

Inchon is a port town, about 30 kilometers west of Seoul. The Catholic home there, also known as Stella Maris, is the oldest children's home in Korea. It was founded by French nuns, later the care was taken over by Korean sisters. "It was a tragic, bleak home." recalls a board member of the Support a Child in Korea (SKK) Foundation. "Nothing was allowed, the children had nothing and the nuns didn't offer any fun. You always left with a bad feeling." Another says: "I especially remember a huge watchdog and there was nothing whatsoever for the children."

End of Page 7 / Start of Page 8:

This home was destroyed in a fire in the 1970s. The administration was then also burned. Later, a "Star of the Sea" home was built at another location in Inchon. This still exists, but the amenities and atmosphere are much, much better than before.

The Kyonggi Social Service Center in Suwon

Suwon is a small town, 30 kilometers south of Seoul and best known for the Folk Village open-air museum. The white home, with a picture of a large red apple above the entrance, was and is under the direction of Mr. Kim Won Young, called a "genius, powerful man" by those who knew him. Before a new building was built with the support of the Support a Child in Korea (SKK) Foundation in the late 1970s, the houses were modest, but not shabby. The new three-storey building, which serves as an example of good childcare, offers help in various ways. There is a large crèche for the children of working single mothers and also a childcare facility for children who are temporarily unable to live at home. In exceptional cases there were also sometimes children who were eligible for adoption. The building also houses a nursery school and a social work office.

A former social worker from the Bia visited the home in 1976: "It was a beautiful home and the children looked healthy and well cared for. When we were there, they were taking an afternoon nap. There were a hundred little shoes in front of the door and the floor of the dormitory was covered from wall to wall with colorful quilted blankets under which the children slept. Later there was a small performance. A group of nursery girls played mother: while singing a song they showed how they were going to wash the dishes: An apron on their stomach, a doll on their back and a bowl on their heads. Meanwhile the boys were hanging on the jungle gym."

The Choong Hyun Baby Home in Kwang Ju

Kwang Ju is located in the south of Korea and is a city the size of The Hague. Mrs. Soonie Park, a young widow, founded the children's home and ruled it for 20 years. In the late 1980s, her son took over. Over the years, the shed in which the daycare started has been expanded to include a crèche, an infirmary and an outpatient clinic that offers free medical care to children. The Support a Child in Korea Foundation has supported this home for many years. Because Mrs. Park was against foreign adoption, only a few times children from this home were offered for adoption. The home is located in a hilly suburb of the city and is surrounded by pear trees. “A cozy home where Mrs. Park takes care of the children like a mother. Small buildings and playgrounds for children in a garden that is abundantly in bloom and betrays the green hand of the owner,” says an old travelogue.

Church Social Service Choong Nam in Hong Song

Hong Song is located in central Korea, not far from the west coast. It is a large village, far from all city amenities. A paved road runs through the village, the Christian Choong Nam home is located on a dirt road. Until his death in 1987, it was managed by Mr. Yang Man Hyong. Then his family took over. A 1979 bulletin from the Support a Child in Korea Foundation tells about this home: “The institution is small, actually a family business because the director's mother helps in the nursery and his father also has a function in the whole. They receive financial support from a local Christian women's group. Two sponsored boys, who attend high school, live in one of the rooms of the square-shaped building that gives access through an open gallery

End of Page 8 / Start of Page 9

to a courtyard full of flowers. The whole exudes peace and friendliness. A board member of SKK adds; “The sponsor children live with their families, but the children for whom there was no care, were in the home. It was very small, maybe there were only about ten children. The whole thing was extremely primitive and shabby. But psychologically it was fantastic. The care of the entire Yang family means that the children will not have been emotionally deficient."

Good Shepherd Convent in Chun Cheon

Chun Cheon is a small town two hours by rail east of Seoul. The convent of the Catholic Good Shepherd Sisters is located outside the city at the foot of a mountain. On public holidays, pilgrims pass the monastery to the upper Buddhist temple from where monotonous monk singing can be heard. The monastery is a beautiful building of two floors and is not only a home for unmarried mothers, it is also a 'stay of my body' house. The sisters in the monastery, and especially Sister Pamela, care for the mothers with love and help them to find their way again after the birth of their child. Some mothers give up their children and since 1988 adopted children have occasionally come from here. The babies sleep between the mothers in the dormitories on the floor. They are rarely left alone, even during the day the mother or one of the other girls sits on the floor next to the baby.

End of Page 9

Note: Support a Child in Korea (SKK) = ‘Stichting Steun een Kind in Korea’

Hwarang Orphanage / Which Likely Became: Isaacs Home Orphanage.

We think this is almost certainly Isaac's Home Orphanage:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/%EC%9D%B4%EC%82%AD%EC%9D%98%EC%A7%91/@37.7083972,127.0132599,13.97z/data=!4m16!1m9!2m8!1z7JWE7J207J6R7J2YIOynkSDqs6DslYTsm5A!3m6!1z7JWE7J207J6R7J2YIOynkSDqs6DslYTsm5A!2s28+Jindeung-ro,+Euijeongbu,+Gyeonggi-do,+South+Korea!3s0x357cc129a657d195:0x8803c8189a40795!4m2!1d127.032819!2d37.7605464!3m5!1s0x357cb8b3ab550201:0xb8f9d01980fac992!8m2!3d37.7062883!4d127.0431087!15sChrslYTsnbTsnpHsnZgg7KeRIOqzoOyVhOybkJIBF2NoaWxkX3dlbGZhcmVfaW5zdGl0dXRl 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/%EC%9D%B4%EC%82%AD%EC%9D%98%EC%A7%91/@37.7062883,127.0431087,3a,96.9y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sAF1QipNdAzxCF5X2dFVKUaQOwrs2rjpbAix7omsnedHJ!2e10!3e12!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNdAzxCF5X2dFVKUaQOwrs2rjpbAix7omsnedHJ%3Dw114-h86-k-no!7i816!8i612!4m16!1m9!2m8!1z7JWE7J207J6R7J2YIOynkSDqs6DslYTsm5A!3m6!1z7JWE7J207J6R7J2YIOynkSDqs6DslYTsm5A!2s28+Jindeung-ro,+Euijeongbu,+Gyeonggi-do,+South+Korea!3s0x357cc129a657d195:0x8803c8189a40795!4m2!1d127.032819!2d37.7605464!3m5!1s0x357cb8b3ab550201:0xb8f9d01980fac992!8m2!3d37.7062883!4d127.0431087!15sChrslYTsnbTsnpHsnZgg7KeRIOqzoOyVhOybkJIBF2NoaWxkX3dlbGZhcmVfaW5zdGl0dXRl

Website: https://isaac.lovefeast.or.kr/

Address:

229-185 Howon-dong, Uijeongbu-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea 

경기도 의정부시 호원동 229-185

Phone: +82318723884

~

Children's Welfare Facility Isaac's House

Address:

51-13, Mangwol-ro 28beon-gil, Uijeongbu-si, Gyeonggi-do

Phone: 031-872-3884 | Fax: 031-873-3884 | Email.isaac@lovefeast.or.kr

~

Please note - the two different addresses above appear to be exactly the same location.

YangJu Baby Home / YangJu Orphanage / Yang Ju Child Care Center.

https://www.koreanorphanage.com/

Church Social Service Choong Nam in Hong Song.

From the adoptive brother of a female KSS Adoptee who wrote to us at Paperslip:

”We found out some information about the Church Social Service Choong Nam Babies Home that might be useful. We visited the Hongseong Social Welfare Center and talked to the pastor and the current director there. They confirmed that this is indeed the location where the babies home was. One of the buildings was originally built in the (nineteen) sixties (1960s) and according to them was used for the children. It is now a nursery. The director told us that her father-in-law was the founder of the Church Social Service Choong Nam Babies Home and also worked as a police officer. 


I enclose(d) some photos of the location. The building in red has been renovated but is still original, the other one was built in the 1980s. There was also a small wooden office building in between the buildings.

The Naver map location is:
Chungcheongnam-do Hongseong-gun Hongseong-eup Ogwan-ri 701-1

https://naver.me/Gedx4TVu “

Please see photos of the Church Social Service Choong Nam Babies Home kindly provided by the adoptive brother of the KSS Adoptee, below:

css buildings close up.jpg
css buildings.jpg
css gate entrance.jpg
css gate.jpg
css logo on office window.jpg
css streetview.jpg
sideview old building.JPG

General Sources of Children.

Korean children sent for international adoption could literally have come from anywhere, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s, which were the peak decades of international adoption from S. Korea. Children were acquired both legitimately and illicitly. Among the many possible sources of children are:

  • Birth family (birth parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle) relinquishment at KSS in Seoul. Others such as police or citizens may also have delivered children here.

  • Feeder orphanages (see list above)

  • Camptown collection by KSS social workers

  • Churches

  • Hospitals

  • Birth Clinics / Midwife Clinics / Medical Clinics

  • Single or unwed mother’s homes

  • Boys Town - Busan

    • The Sisters of Mary – Girlstown & Boystown in Busan
      Address:
      7-62 Amnamdong, Seoku
      Busan, Korea 602-030

      Opened in 1964

      ”OUR PROGRAMS IN SOUTH KOREA

      In 1964, Fr. Aloysius Schwartz founded the Sisters of Mary in Busan, Korea to serve the poorest of the poor.

      Adopting the Virgin of the Poor as the group’s patroness, the Sisters of Mary fulfill in their own little way the Virgin of the Poor’s message of relieving the suffering of the poor by establishing child welfare programs like Boystown and Girlstown Schools, setting up medical service to the sick, and providing shelter for the homeless and handicapped.

      All charity programs in South Korea were established well before the death of our founder Father Al.

      In Busan, the Sisters of Mary maintain a kindergarten, middle and high schools, while in Seoul, they operate a kindergarten and an elementary school. These live-in schools are for abandoned and orphaned children. In addition, the Sisters of Mary provide help to the poor and the needy in their hospitals and homes.

      BUSAN FACILITIES OVERIEW

      • 1 four-story dormitory for boys

      • 1 six-story dormitory with an indoor gymnasium for boys

      • 1 five-story Middle School with an indoor gymnasium for boys

      • 1 four-story Technical High School with classrooms and workshops for boys

      • 1 five-story Babies Home and Kindergarten building

      • The Swiss House for Babies – a four-story home for babies (named after loyal supporters from Switzerland)

      • 1 Expectant Mothers’ Home

      • 1 four-story Middle and High School with classrooms and an indoor gymnasium for girls

      • 1 four-story dormitory for girls

      • 1 two-story building for infants

      • The Kuho Hospital and Kuhosho Sanatorium for Tuberculosis patients

      • The Maria Kuho Complex – 2 three-story buildings which house tuberculosis patients and aid in their recovery”

  • Trigger warning: Possibly Brothers Home in Busan or other "social welfare" facilities

Choon Hyun Babies Home in Gwangju.

There is an article about Choon Hyun Babies Home in Gwangju here.

Bizarrely, the current text in the article today (as of January 31st, 2022) is different from the text originally in the article whose English translation was captured on December 11th, 2020. Today there is no more mention of Han Hwa Children's Foundation or KSS’ US Partner Western Adoption Agency Lutheran Social Services (LSS) as there was in the original article.

Below is the English translation of the article, captured on December 11th, 2020.

The original article mentions "Hanwha Children's Foundation and Lutheran Social Services in the United States" - remembering that there was a "Han Hwa Children's Medical Clinic" at KSS in Seoul and that Lutheran Social Services (LSS) of Minnesota was one of KSS’ US Partner Western Adoption Agencies. KSS Founder Kun Chil Paik (alternately: Baek Geun-chil / Paik, Kun Chil / 백근칠) studied at the University of Minnesota in the 1950s where he interned at Lutheran Social Services (LSS). For more information, see KSS History and KSS Founder Kun Chil Paik Alternately: Baek Geun-chil / Paik, Kun Chil / 백근칠.

~

“The scene where Yoo Hye-ryang's (Mrs. Hye Ryang Yoo - Choon Hyun Babies Home current director as of 2022) life and dreams overflow

Gwangju's Place of Hope and Service In 1976, Governor Go Geon Opening Ceremony as a woman proudly ranks as an expert

Opening ceremony of Chunghyeon Children's Clinic in 1976. Jeollanam-do Governor Go Gun and Chairman Paik Geun-chil.

[= Christian Mission Chonnam Metropolitan Daily] Clean / gimsuhwa = Herald reporter chunghyeon original introduction of the Korea Social Welfare

3. Evolution of chunghyeon won (Choon Hyun Babies Home in Gwangju)

by South Korea with economic growth based on the Christian spirit of the nest war orphans Since 1970 occurred after the Korea war The operation of the orphanage was changed.

With the motto of respect for life and the need for birth babies to be raised by their biological parents, it has been converted from a social problem treatment project to a social problem prevention project and operated as a social welfare institution.

Groundbreaking ceremony for the first children's public playground in Gwangju, sponsored by the Netherlands in 1976.

As the society becomes industrialized, the demand for women to enter society has become an urgent situation. Gwangju's first daycare center, child counseling center, free children's hospital, and public children's playground (now Sajik Library, Video Culture Center, and tennis court) were built with the support of the Netherlands, and the Honam General Social Welfare Center was opened, which greatly contributed to the prevention of social problems.

An attempt was made to build the building of a free children's hospital for orphans from the Netherlands. The funds sent in this way established the Honam General Social Welfare Center, the first social welfare institution in the region, at 887-5, Ssangchon-dong.

A system was established to allow boys and girls heads to receive support for tuition and living expenses while living in relatives' homes without being enclosed in the institution, and it is still coming to Jinhae. From 1945 to 1995, 50 heads of boys and girls living in the Gwangju area were provided with tuition and living expenses from elementary school to high school graduation (with the help of Hanwha Children's Foundation and Lutheran Social Services in the United States).

From 1975 to 1989, 30 Suncheon local middle and high school students' tuition, life support, birthday gifts, and Christmas gifts were delivered through the Suncheon Social Welfare Center at that time. Young-hee Nam and Deok-shin Kim, elders of Suncheon Holiness Church and director of Suncheon Social Welfare Center, selected and recommended the children.

Park Soon-i, who was born in 1979, recalls: “The orphans of the Korean War had neither body nor mind. I was a woman, I was a widow, and I was weak. This task was beyond my ability. However, for the past 31 years, I have promoted various welfare projects according to God's word,'If a grain of wheat does not fall to the ground and die, it will remain as it is, and if it dies, it will produce many fruits' (John 12:24). , I could also improve a lot.”

On the other hand, when children started going to elementary school in 1954, he suggested that the daughter of the eldest nephew in the in-laws, who is qualified with regular qualifications, be in charge of education for children without parents. Therefore, Kim Gap-hoe said that while serving as an elementary school teacher in Mokpo, the Chunghyunwon project was so wonderful and good that he resigned and devoted it for seven years before marrying in Chunghyeonwon. (Testimony of Gap-hee Kim in 2014).

You are in the blind spot of interest. Eventually, in February 1995, Park Soon-i passed away.

Park Soon-i’s will says, “I am sure that I am going to heaven now, and I am like a worrier, but always rejoicing, like a poor man, but enriches many people, and like nothing but possesses everything”-2 Corinthians 6:10? He said, "Write the words of the Bible along with English on the gravestone."

The reason is “I breathe and live by this Word. Without bending to anyone... He said he would like to read when children (adoptees) sent abroad come. And for the children, it is'live, asking for your will every day.' Through this will, he shows the strength of God who has lived a life that was so difficult."

Image Source: Article Above
KSS Founder Kun Chil Paik (alternately: Baek Geun-chil / Paik, Kun Chil / 백근칠) at Choon Hyun Babies Home in Gwangju (Jeolla Province).
Caption reads: ”The opening ceremony of the Chunghyeon (Choon Hyun Babies Home) Children's Hospital in 1976. Jeollanam-do Governor Go-gun and Chairman Baek Geun-chil.”

Update: May 16th, 2024.

Misc. Lists of Currently Active Orphanages in S. Korea:

We stumbled across some lists of currently active orphanages in S. Korea. Please note, these lists are not exhaustive (they may not list ALL orphanages per city), and we have no idea which if any Korean Adoption Agencies these orphanges are / were connected to.

Please do NOT assume these orphanages have any current or had any past connection to KSS (Korea Social Service) - we simply do not know. Please note that names and addresses of orphanages may have changed over the years. 

Please investigate on your own and please do NOT contact any orphanages where you were NOT actually from. 

https://www.paperslip.org/misc-orphanages