South Korea's Sham Adoptions

South Korea’s adoptees searching for answers about their identity

South Korea's Sham Adoptions Following the Korean war, over 200,000 children were adopted to families across the world. Desperate to learn more about their families, these adults are now investigating the circumstances of their adoptions.
In the late 20th century, the adoption of children became a lucrative business for agencies in Korea. Adults, who were adopted as children, are now facing difficulty seeking answers about their biological family. "The story that my adoptive parents were given was completely false... in my adoption papers, there's conflicting information" says Mary, who was adopted from Korea to the US in the 80s. Birth parents are also searching for answers. Han Tae Soon's child was taken, but she found and reconnected with her 44 years later in the US. "They stole her and sent her off to a faraway place. She must have looked for me the whole time." With growing claims of falsified documents, duplicate identities and stolen children, an official investigation into Korea’s international adoption agencies has been launched. "We collected all the stories and went to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Korea, and we made a formal complaint" says Peter, who was adopted to Denmark, and is now leading the move for answers via the NGO KoRoot.
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