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The Oligopoly Structure: How the "Big Four" Operated
A deep dive into South Korea’s Big Four adoption agencies—Holt, SWS, KSS, and ESWS. Learn how they operated, their current status, and cited research.
Jul 219 min read
Harry Holt & America's Impact on Korea's Adoption System
1. Harry Holt and the Catalyst of US "Private Bills" (1953–1955) Following the Korean War, thousands of mixed-race children (born to Korean mothers and US/UN soldiers) faced intense ostracism, poverty, and abandonment in South Korea. In 1954, Harry and Bertha Holt, evangelical Christians from Creswell, Oregon, watched a World Vision documentary detailing this crisis and decided they needed to act. However, they ran into a major obstacle: U.S. immigration law. The Legal Road
Jul 196 min read
History of Adoption in Korea
To understand the South Korean adoption system is to view the evolution of a country trying to heal from the trauma of war, navigating intense Cold War politics, and eventually transforming itself from a completely privatized "exporter" of children into a state-regulated system that prioritizes child welfare. The history can be broken down into five distinct eras, mapping out how the country got from pre-Harry Holt to today. 1. Pre-Harry Holt (Joseon Dynasty to 1953): Clan Pr
Jul 194 min read
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