About
Since 1953, Korea has sent 200,000 children overseas for adoption to the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia. These children were “reborn” in airport lounges and welcomed into new families – yet remained forever genetic and ethnic strangers. The sorrow of Korea’s children was met with love from complete strangers. Separated from their roots, they were replanted in predominantly white societies: new, non-biological families, new cultures, and new nations. This process was envisioned as a “win-win” solution, matching parents without children with children without parents.
Bridging the past and present
Who am I?
However, many adoptees are eventually confronted with fundamental human questions: “Who am I?” and “Where do I really come from?” For non-adoptees, such questions are often easier to answer through family stories, ancestry, and genealogy. For adoptees, however, the answers are far more complex, as they are often left with a “black box” obscuring the details of their existence before arriving at their new destination.
Searching for answers
Over the past 25–30 years, many adult adoptees have voiced concerns about the loss of culture, history, and understanding of their origins. They have begun to articulate the loneliness of an upbringing in which their minds and gaze became “white,” while they remained genetic and ethnic strangers – often feeling isolated, even from themselves. Some adoptees have spent years searching for their Korean parents or families, only to encounter silence, rejection, fabricated or falsified documents, legal barriers, gatekeepers, and closed doors in both Korea and the receiving countries. In particular, among adoptees from the YangJu Orphanage in Dongducheon, it seems that very few have succeeded in locating their biological families.
Purpose
From a small orphanage YangJu Babyhome 양주 고아원 in Dongducheon 동두천, almost no adoptees have ever been reunited with their first families. Why? The answers lie buried in fragmented records, forgotten histories, and unanswered questions. To break this silence, we are coming together to reclaim our stories and reconnect with our roots through The YangJu Adoptee Archive — a growing global initiative built by and for Korean adoptees.
Background
From 1963 to 1981, YangJu Baby Home operated in Dongducehon, near the Korean DMZ – during a time marked by poverty, militarization, and rising overseas adoptions. Initially establshed by Yangju County, the orphanage later came under private management of Aeshin and maintained close ties to the nearby U.S. military base, Camp Casey. Many children from the home were sent abroad for adoption. Their stories form a vital, yet often overlooked, part of Dongducheon’s complex history.
About the project
Our aim is to
CONNECT, COLLECT, and ORGANIZE the origin stories of adoptees from Yangju Orphanage
The archive will gather and structure information, facilitate community building, support and share scientific research, and foster contributions to international networks—helping adoptees access and become part of the local Korean history in the Dongducheon and the Yangju region.
The Yangju Adoptee Archive seeks to explore engaging methods for proactively collecting knowledge to generate more knowledge—qualified and organized—to drive meaningful change and improve how adoptees connect with their Korean past and envision their future.
Through a series of outreach activities—such as exhibitions, symposiums, and cultural meetings—the Yangju Adoptee Archive network creates both global and local impact, advancing cultural exchange and mutual understanding.
The Board
Lene Wul
Yang Wul Soon 양을순
Madam Chair
Presumably born in 1968, Uijeongbu. Placed at the Yangju Baby Home from 1968 until spring 1970 (estimated), and adopted to Denmark in April 1970 via Korean Social Service (KSS).
City Archivist and manager of Kolding City Archives since 2012. Resides in Kolding, Denmark.
Holds a Master’s degree in History from University of Southern Denmark (1994) and has previously worked at the National Archives of Denmark.
Isabel Lee Andersen
Lee Jung Sook 이정숙
Treasurer
Presumably born in 1969, Dongducheon area. Placed at the Yangju Baby Home in September 1969 and adopted to Denmark in August 1970 via Korean Social Service (KSS).
Independent and self-taught decluttering and structure expert, specialized in helping elderly people with Alzheimer’s. Visual design and concept presentation development.
Graduated cum laude from artEZ University of the Arts Arnhem, fashion design, in 1995. Resides in Arnhem, the Netherlands, since 1989.
Malene Rauhe
Ma Yong Bun 마용분
Vice-chair
Presumably born in 1970, Dongducheon. Placed at the Yangju Baby Home in 1970 (estimated), and adopted to Denmark in August 1970 via Korean Social Service (KSS).
CEO, architect and graphic designer at Graphicworks.dk since 2001. Resides in Aarhus, Denmark.
Holds a Master in Architecture from Aarhus School of Architecture (2001).
Susie Lawlor
Park Jung Hyun 박정현
Board Member
Presumably born in 1965 in Uijeongbu. Placed at the YangJu Baby Home from 1965 until the spring of 1970 and adopted to the United States via Korean Social Service (KSS).
Substitute Teacher, California, USA. Self-published author of Seoul Story.
Master in Education courses taken at Pepperdine University. Holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from Troy University.
Darcy Mittelstaedt
Lee Bok Shil 이복실
Board Member
Presumably born in 1972, Uijeongbu. Placed at the Yangju Baby Home from 1972 until the winter of 1974 (estimated), and adopted to the USA in January 1974 via Eastern Social Welfare Society (ESWS).
Bishop’s Associate for Leadership in the Southwestern Texas Synod since 2018. Resides in New Braunfels, Texas, USA.
Holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology/Psychology from Midland University (1995) and has taken some graduate courses from Luther Seminary.
The Advisory Board
Kim Hyang Eun
Is professor of Social Welfare at the Department of Social Welfare, Kosin University in Pusan.
Currently Advisory Committee Member and Review Committee Member at the Child Rights Protection Agency (NCRC) under the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Review Committee Member at the Overseas Koreans Affairs Bureau and the Overseas Koreans Cooperation Center (OKCC), Board Member at Cheonghakwon Social Welfare Foundation and Fullbright Visiting Scholar to the US (2010-2011; 2022)
Sinn Dong hee
Is associate professor in the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity, Department of Information Sciences and Technology, University at Albany, State University of New York, US
Her current research interests include personal digital archiving, information management and literacy within the personal domain, the digital presence of archival materials for historical events, and archival documentation and appraisal in a government context.
Dr. Sinn received her PhD degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh.
Previously, she worked at the National Archives of Korea and several academic libraries in the US and Korea.
Henriette Roued
Is associate professor in digital heritage at Section of Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM), Department of Communication, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Henriette teaches, researches and writes about Heritage Practice Communities online, such as: open data in the heritage sector, Participatory heritage communities online (like family historians) and GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) openness and online interaction.
Dr. Roued received her PhD degree in Ancient History/Digital Humanities from the University of Oxford.
Join the YangJu Research Community
- Did you stay at the Yangju Baby Home?
- Do you recognize any of the faces or names?
- Did you work at the orphanage?
- Do you know the Kwak family, who organized the orphanage?
- Did you serve at Camp Casey?
- Do you have any relevant information to share?