Korean Family Search
For most Korean adoptees there comes a time that we get curious about our Korean heritage. This growing feeling that vital information is missing is mostly caused by a variable mix of mainly personal reasons. Unfortunately orphans from the YangJu Baby Home have a low chance for success to find their biological family. This is caused by a number of reasons. Many decades have passed and administration was not always done dilligently. In some cases information was deliberately altered with the idea that an orphan should start a new life without being bothered by the past. Because the YangJu Baby Home was closed in 1981, most documents were probably destroyed.
The good news is that the internet has eased efforts to find information. Theoretically, adoptees and their biological families could find each others in seconds. Another tool is DNA testing. This technology has advanced greatly and has become available to everyone, nowadays. Last but not least, the social changes in Korean society and aging of biological parents have increased the willingness to confront the past and reconnect with their offspring.
So, if you are looking for your biological (Korean) family we have collected the information below to guide you.
Search process for YangJu Baby Home adoptees
1
Collect all papers, related to your adoption. Strangely enough these vary per adoptee and per country.
Documents & pictures available from your local & Korean adoption organization and orphanages. Ask your adoption parents.
The documents are often in Korean & English language. There should also be travel and health documents.
2
Check for factual information like (presumed) birth date, (presumed) name, city/region, orphanages, etc.
Documents are often in the Korean & English language. Check the translation while this might not always be correct.
Check all details! Understand the sequence, identify inconsistencies. Try to distinguish what info has been fabricated.
3
Ask your adoption parents about the stories you told them in the first months/years after your arrival.
You might have shared stories about biological parents, possible siblings or other major events in your early life.
Adoption parents may not have liked your stories because they wanted you to start a new happy life from scratch.
4
Contact the adoption agencies for more information. Adoption agencies changed names fequently.
Your local adoption agency has more documents than shared with you. Send them a formal request to see all documents.
The Korean adoption agency has more documents than shared with you. Send them a formal request to see all documents.
5
Contact the orphanage for more information.
The YangJu orphanage in Dongducheon was closed in 1981. But there might be other orphanages mentioned in your file.
The YangJu orphanage cooperated with other orphanages. Among those; Aeshin started before YangJu and still exists.
6
Visit the YangJu City Hall, the Dongducheon City Hall and/or in the place where you were abandoned/found.
When an orphan was found, The Police and/or City Hall made a report. Often, the first written document about an orphan.
Unfortunately, these so-called Baby Cards are poorly archived, re-written or moved due to changes how the local government was organized.
7
Perform a DNA test at the National Police Agency’s Center for Missing Persons in Seoul or at the Embassy.
The National Police Agency’s Center for Missing Persons is responsible for finding missing persons, including adoptees.
Unfortunately, Korean families who abandoned their children voluntarily are not eligible to sumbit their DNA.
8
Perform a DNA test with multiple companies. DNA matching can be quite successful, nowadays.
Korean adoptees submit DNA to FamilyTreeDNA, 23andMe, AncestryDNA and MyHeritage. Some support cross uploading.
Not all DNA companies ship their tests to Korea. That’s why uploading your DNA profile to GEDMatch matters. 325KAMRA supports Korean Adoptees.
9
File a request at the National Center for the Rights of the Child for the complete Korean file and search support.
Formally you apply for a so-called Adoption Information Disclosure. At the moment the process is a bit chaotic.
You can visit the NCRC but start with the formal application. Additionally you can submit your TRC-3 application before Feb 25th, 2028
10
Contact the media to share your family search journey on national television and online.
There are so-called Find-your-Family programs or adoption related documentaries on Korean National TV.
Check the Korea Media websites and try to get in touch with them. Your story might be interesting enough to cover.
Relevant links to find your Korean family
The search for your biological Korean family is a time consuming quest. Information is scattered all over the internet. Check also Facebook for the numerous interest groups related to this topic. In Korea, Google is not the only search engine used. Naver is at least as popular but predominantly in the Korean language. Furthermore, there are several organizations offering so-called (sponsored) homecoming tours to Korea. See below some useful references that might be beneficial to you.
ESWS Adoption Organization
Holt Adoption Organization
KSS Adoption Organization
KWS Adoption Organization
Dongducheon City Hall
YangJu City Hall
Center for Missing Persons
Center Rights of the Child
FamilyTreeDNA
23andMe
AncestryDNA
MyHeritage
GEDmatch
325KAMRA
Overseas Koreans Agency
Global Overseas Adoption Link
Paperslip (KSS Adoptee info)
Me & Korea
KoRoot
Nest Korea
National Korean Adoptee associations
Searching for your biological Korean family can be an emotional rollercoaster. Luckily, you are not alone. After the Korean war, over 200,000 children were dispatched for overseas adoption. So, many Korean adoptees walked the same path and they can advice you. In several countries Korean adoptees have organized themselves (often with support from the local Korean Embassy) to share family search experiences and get a feel with Korean culture. Often they organize meet-ups for new members.
Arierang (NL)
Korea Klubben (DK)
Adopterade Koreaners Förening (SE)
Racines Coreennes (FR)
Koreanischer Adoptierte Deutschland
Also Known As (US NY)
Korean Adoptees Australia
International Korean Adoptees
Generic Case stories
A couple has several children. The first husband dies and the mother needs to remarry. One or more children are dispatched for adoption so the mother is able to find a new husband. She keeps it a secret how many children were born out of the previous marriage.
Recently the second husband died and the family secret is no longer a necessity. It is only now that the mother is able to look for her lost children.
A Korean adoptee frequently visits the Korean orphanage where she grew up. Every time the orphanage staff explains her that no relevant information is available in her file.
The fourth time when she visits the orphanage, the orphanage director surprises all with the sudden announcement that vital information was found in her file. She asks the adoptee to return the next day. The next day the media arrived to publish that the orphanage helped to find her family.
A family lives in North Korea. The father decides to bring his son to the Southern part in the hope to provide him with a better life. But he has to return avoiding the rest of the family being severely punished.
Decades later, when his North Korean wife deceases he decides to refuge again to the South. From there he starts to look for his son. Luckily the adoption organization didn’t change the child’s name and with some effort the family is reunited.