What To Do If Your Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary Does Not Have Birth Parent Info.
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General Next Steps In Birth Family Search.

*Please note that this page is PRIMARILY INTENDED for KSS (Korea Social Service) Adoptees. Please note that the “KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary” is a document SPECIFIC TO KSS, and DOES NOT apply to Korean Adoptees adopted through Holt, Eastern (ESWS / ECWS), or Korea Welfare Society (KWS) / formerly Social Welfare Society (SWS). KSS is NOT the same as the Korean Government Agency Korea Adoption Services (KAS). Please DO NOT CONTACT KSS if you are NOT A KSS ADOPTEE.

However some of these steps may generally apply to ALL Korean Adoptees.

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We know that it can be disappointing, often incredibly so, if your (KSS specific) previously secret “KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary” does NOT have any birth parent information. It’s natural to hope that it will, but unfortunately, it can often happen that it does not. It is simply luck of the draw. As fellow KSS Adoptees, we VERY much sympathize with how you may feel when you inevitably come up against the common barriers to birth family search.

We still recommend that you have your “KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary” document professionally translated RIGHT AWAY. Please contact us at paperslipadoptee@gmail.com if you are a KSS Adoptee for a reliable paid Korean / English TRANSLATOR REFERRAL. We do NOT make any commission off of translator referrals.

For those who have not previously requested a birth family search and their formerly secret “KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary” please see the “Illustrated Step By Step Guide” about halfway down this page:

Step By Step KSS Birth Family Search

Also, be sure to check your ENGLISH Adoptive Child Study Summary. Depending on your case, your ENGLISH Adoptive Child Study Summary MAY in some instances contain birth parent information. This document should have been provided to your ADOPTIVE PARENTS at the time of your adoption.

If you are a KSS Adoptee, you are welcome to reach out to us throughout the process of your birth family search. While we are not mental health counselors, and cannot help you process all of your emotions, we are happy to advise you periodically in the process of your search!

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Please note that IF your “KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary” DOES HAVE birth parent information, but KSS was unable to successfully contact your birth parents or they refused to meet you this year, that you can request a NEW birth family search ONCE PER YEAR. Since ALL KSS files will MOVE to the Korean Government Agency NCRC starting in July 2025, following the completed transfer of KSS files, you will likely have to do a FUTURE birth family search through NCRC. Please stay tuned as we do not totally know what this process will look like once the files move. However, we strongly believe that KSS will CLOSE its Post Adoption Services building following the transfer of KSS files to NCRC, and there will then be nothing left physically of the original KSS campus.

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Below are some practical steps you can take to continue your birth family search:

A.) TAKE CARE OF YOUR MENTAL HEALTH:
Please know that the birth family search process is different for everyone, but it shares one thing in common: it is HARD. We recommend that if you are feeling overwhelmed that you seek an Adoptee sensitive therapist and indulge in well-deserved self-care. You are certainly not alone in how you feel in confronting the mysteries of your past. There is a great worldwide Korean Adoptee community that you can reach out to online and in person for help.

If you are a KSS (Korea Social Service) Adoptee, we strongly encourage you to join our PRIVATE Facebook Group KSS Cribmates:

KSS Cribmates on Facebook
*Please be sure to answer the membership questions. If you do not know the answers, please contact us at paperslipadoptee@gmail.com

Joining KSS Cribmates is the BEST way to keep up with happenings in the KSS Adoptee community! Things are changing fast these days, but also you never know if something new will come along several YEARS down the line. We do not maintain an email newsletter (sorry we are not actually paid for our work, and that would be a full time job). But we constantly post information to KSS Cribmates regarding birth family search, so this is the place to be if you have interest. There is a lot of information which we DO NOT share publicly here on Paperslip, and only share on KSS Cribmates.

One source of additional resources beyond Paperslip is:

Korean Adoptee Resource Hub
https://kadresourcehub.com/

There are many more resources available via Korean Adoptee Facebook groups, websites, local, national, and international organizations, etc. We strongly encourage you to seek the support of the community!

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1.) REQUEST ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS FROM KSS, ONE AT A TIME.
Once KSS responds to your FIRST request for a birth family search AND your “KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary”, please know that you can THEN request ONE DOCUMENT AT A TIME via the “Option D” method which we describe in STEP 7 of the “Illustrated Step By Step” Guide below.
Please see:

NEW! Step 7. Requesting Additional Items / Documents ONE AT A TIME from KSS via the “Option D Method”

Step By Step KSS Birth Family Search

Please note that you must WAIT to RECEIVE ONE DOCUMENT BEFORE REQUESTING THE NEXT ONE! Since ALL KSS files move from KSS to the Korean Government Agency NCRC beginning in July 2025, we highly recommend that as SOON as you receive one document from KSS, that you IMMEDIATELY REQUEST ANOTHER. Please be sure to READ THE INFO ABOVE to understand exactly how to make these requests for additional documents from KSS.

This is a tedious process, but it WORKS - and it is likely the ONLY way to get documents from KSS!

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2.) DNA TESTING:
We also cannot more strongly recommend that IF you have interest in birth family search, that you take ALL POSSIBLE DNA Tests. We recommend the following workflow for DNA Testing:

1. Take 23 and Me
2. Take Ancestry
3. Transfer your raw data for FREE from Ancestry to FTDNA (the test distributed for years by the KAD organization 325Kamra) and MyHeritage.

This gets you on 4 DNA tests for the cost of 2.

*NOTE: IF you can only take ONE DNA test, take 23 and Me. You will get the MOST DNA matches by far on this test IF you are a full-blooded Korean. This writer has OVER 900 RELATIVE MATCHES ON 23 and Me. If you are Hapa / mixed race and can only take ONE DNA test, take Ancestry.

However it’s equally important to know that the Korean Adoptee organization 325Kamra has distributed FTDNA to KOREAN BIRTH PARENTS and ADOPTEES around the world for free FOR YEARS. It’s so important to be on FTDNA as it is one of the few tests which Korean birth parents may have the opportunity to take. DNA testing is NOT popular in Korea!

However, we cannot more strongly recommend that you take ALL POSSIBLE DNA TESTS - you never know who has taken which test. Please note that when reaching out to DNA relative matches, DO NOT mention you are Adoptee until you have developed a relationship of trust. DO NOT put in your DNA profile that you are an Adoptee! This will scare most people off.

If you go to KOREA and are considered a “Missing Person” - someone with unknown background information - you can take the Korean Police Missing Person’s DNA Test at a Police Station in Korea. Please read the DNA link below about the “Adoption Certificate” and the “NCRC Certificate” which you may need to take this test at either a Korean Police Station in Korea or at a Korean Consulate in your Western country of adoption:

DNA Testing

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3.) FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) for US Adoptees:
If you are a US Adoptee, you can file a FREE FOIA Request for your US Immigration Records:

Please be sure to READ the ENTIRE page below BEFORE filing a FREE FOIA Request:

FOIA Request For US Adoptees

Be SURE to REQUEST your entire “ALIEN FILE” - or you will NOT get your ENTIRE file - read more on the link above.

Because we were adopted across international borders, our FOIA file will often contain DOZENS OF PAGES OF ADOPTION DOCUMENTS. This writer received an over 80 page PDF after filing a FREE FOIA request many years ago. We know Korean Adoptees who have gotten up to 150 pages through their FREE FOIA request. Please note that a FOIA request is a US Immigration records request, and has nothing to do with requesting a birth family search through either your Korean or US Adoption Agency.

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4.) CONTACT AND / OR VISIT YOUR “FEEDER ORPHANAGE”:
If your adoption documents say that you were previously housed at an ORPHANANGE prior to being transferred to the KSS Receiving Home (which is / was KSS’ main campus in Seoul) then you can check our list of KSS “Feeder Orphanages” to see if your orphanage is mentioned. Please see:

Sources of KSS Orphans + Orphanage List

Many of these “feeder orphanages” for KSS are still open / operational and you can contact them by email for information or set up an appointment with a translator to visit them in Korea.

For example, Nam Kwang Orphanage in Busan was a common “feeder orphanage” which was listed in the English adoption documents of KSS Adoptees. Nam Kwang is still open in Busan and they are responsive by email. Please see the above link for their contact info. You can simply send Nam Kwang an email in English with some identifying adoption documents - you do not need to fill out any forms - and request information from them via email. They seem to be very quickly responsive via email. Your individual experience will vary in terms of how much information you may (or may not) receive from them.

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5.) “BOOTS ON THE GROUND” SEARCH IN KOREA:
Plan to do “on the ground” search if you are able to go to Korea. Please see:

Pro-Active Birth Family Search Tips for KSS (Korea Social Service) and ALL Korean Adoptees

6.) REQUEST YOUR KOREAN REGISTRATION DOCUMENTS:
Locate your original Korean Travel Document (“Passport” or Travel Certificate) and learn how to IDENTIFY your “Personal Number” / Korean “National ID” Number AND your “Passport” / Travel Certificate / Travel ID Number. You can potentially use the “Personal Number” / Korean “National ID” Number at either a Gucheong Center (구청) in Korea OR at a Korean Consulate in your Western country of adoption to request specific Korean Registration documents by their KOREAN name. For more info please see:

NEW! How To Use Your Original Korean Passport or Travel Certificate Number For Birth Family Search

Please read the ENTIRE page above CAREFULLY BEFORE visiting a Gucheong Center (구청) in Korea OR at a Korean Consulate in your Western country of adoption as the process may be a bit complex, AND you need to be prepared with specific documents in order for this request to work.

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7. VISIT KOREA - Either On Your Own Or As Part Of An ADOPTEE / MOTHERLAND TOUR:
If you have never been to Korea before, and have the ability to do so, we cannot more strongly recommend this.

There are many Korean Adoptee Tours. The ones which we most recommend are:

Mosaic Tour
The tour always happens in the Summer. You must apply by the December PRECEDING the Summer you wish to go on the tour. This is a VERY popular tour, and you are unfortunately not guaranteed a spot. Those who have been recommended by prior Mosaic Tour participants have a higher chance of getting on the tour. If you have interest in this tour and are a KSS Adoptee, please contact us at paperslipadoptee@gmail.com. We will not recommend anyone with whom we have not had at least prior Zoom contact.

GOAL First Trip Home or Sotdae
You must join GOAL to participate in their Homeland Tour/s. Please see their website for more information.

More tours are listed on Korean Adoptee Resource Hub here:

Motherland Tours

*Please note we DO NOT recommend INKAS.

Please do your own research into these tours before applying.

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CLOSING THOUGHTS:

Something we often to say to Korean Adoptees, many of whom are understandably frustrated in their birth family search:

Birth family search is only over when we stop trying.

But also:

There is MUCH more to Korea than birth family search.

We think it is unbelievably valuable for a Korean Adoptee to visit / engage with Korean culture whether or not they have interest in or have success with birth family search.

The country of Korea is a part of you. It can be incredibly meaningful for many Korean Adoptees to explore this part of their heritage, no matter what the outcome of birth family search.