KAD Legislative News

Reclaiming the Story: Why The Becoming Was Created to Demystify the Birth Search Process For many international adoptees, identity isn’t a single, fixed point—it is a lifelong evolution. Yet for Korean Adoptees (KADs), the path toward discovering their origins and understanding their history is rarely a straight line. It is often an intricate journey blocked by dense bureaucratic red tape, complex institutional gatekeeping, and profound linguistic and cultural barriers. To

From feeling out of place to reclaiming identity: explore cultural displacement, grief, and proving your worth as an adult Korean adoptee with The Becoming.

Learn about suicide risks and mental health challenges facing Korean adoptees, from Complex PTSD and ambiguous loss to clinical studies and support groups.

A complete annual timeline of South Korean intercountry adoptions (1953–present): explore placement data by country, historical phases, and primary datasets.

Dual citizenship vs. F-4 visa for Korean adoptees: Learn how to apply, understand key legal distinctions, and find essential professional and legal resources.

Examine government responses to South Korean adoption fraud: state inquiries, formal apologies, agency shutdowns, and origin-search support across 5 nations.

A comprehensive guide to TRC Korea’s adoption inquiry examines key findings, victim rulings, state obligations, international responses, and research sources.

Korean adoptee shadow files refer to duplicate, unredacted, or confidential domestic records maintained internally by South Korean adoption agencies that were systematically withheld from foreign adoptive parents, overseas partner agencies, and adult adoptees. During the peak transnational adoption era (1970s–1990s), South Korea’s "Big Four" agencies—Holt Children’s Services, Social Welfare Society (SWS/KWS), Korea Social Service (KSS), and Eastern Social Welfare Society (ESW