Category: South Korea
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Mixed-race daughter Korea tried to send away is now helping adoptees return home
By Hankookilbo Link to story Meeky Woo Flippen, head of 325KAMRA Korea, speaks during an interview with Hankook Ilbo at the organization’s office in Jung-gu, central Seoul. Korea Times photo by Park Ji-yeon Overseas Korean adoptee calls for state apology over forced adoptions of mixed-race children “578 Ganeung 3-dong, Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province. 3-tong, 2-ban,” she said…
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A wall of nametags at a South Korean park testifies to adoptees’ longing for their birth mothers
Link to story By Kim Tong-Hyung PAJU, South Korea (AP) — Dozens of Korean adoptees from North America and Europe recently gathered to leave their names on a wall at a former U.S. military base, hoping that, after decades, a birth mother might still be looking for them. Misted in rain, they fastened ceramic nametags onto mesh…
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Korea Times: Korea must embrace its 7 mil. diaspora as ‘strategic asset,’ says agency chief
By Park Ji-won Link to story Kim Kyung-hyup, commissioner of the Overseas Koreans Agency (OKA), speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at OKA’s Service and Support Center for Overseas Koreans in Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk Official pushes for dual citizenship reform, overseas mail-in voting, adoptee rights probe Once a primary…
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Korea’s child rights agency data mishandling draws ire from overseas adoptees
By Jung Da-hyun Published May 11, 2026 Link to story Data breach seen not just as security failure, but threat to identity, dignity This image shows the main page of the National Center for the Rights of the Child (NCRC) website / Captured from NCRC website A recent data breach at the National Center for the Rights…
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Korean adoptees submit new round of investigation requests to Truth and Reconciliation Commission
BY KIM CHANG-YONG Link to story Overseas adoptees submit a petition to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in central Seoul seeking an investigation into forced overseas adoption of mixed-race children and abuse at child care facilities on March 30. [NEWS1] Korean adoptees who were sent abroad between the 1970s and 1990s filed a new round…
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[Column] The Korean government has a duty to overseas adoptees
Posted on : 2026-05-10 With the third term of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission now in full swing, I hope that adoptees are able to learn the truth about where they come from and how they came to be sent abroad Link to story Illustration by Jaewoogy_ma@naver.com By Lee Suk-tae, former Constitutional Court justice On Aug.…
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Birth Mothers Harmed by Overseas Adoption Speak Out: “Government Negligence Must Be Thoroughly Investigated”
by Bae Kyunghwan Link to story Birth Mothers Harmed by Overseas Adoption File Petition with TRCCall for Dedicated Investigative Body on Forged Documents and Human Rights Violations The Coalition for the Truth and Accountability on Overseas Adoption and Children’s Rights (hereinafter TRACE) submitted a petition for truth-finding on behalf of five birth mothers who suffered…
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8 Korean adoptees sue Danish state over human rights
March 26, 2025. AP-Yonhap Link to story COPENHAGEN — Eight people adopted by Danish citizens from South Korea in the 1970s and 1980s are suing Denmark for allegedly denying them the right to their identity, origin and family life, their lawyer said Monday. In the lawsuit, the eight, who were all adopted when they were…
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South Korean minister commits to enhancing legal remedies for adoptees and victims of state abuses
Link to story south korean minister commits to enhancing legal remedies for adoptees and victims of state abuses GWACHEON, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s justice minister has pledged to expand access to judicial remedies for victims of state-led abuses, including foreign adoptees whose adoptions were marred by widespread fraud under previous military governments. Using…
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174 Overseas Adoptees Speak Out: “Unable to Find Our Roots, Living as Outsiders”
byKim Bokyung Link to story Editor’s NoteThe history of overseas adoption has not ended, even after more than 70 years. Overseas adoption, which began after the Korean War to reduce the number of orphans, has continued to this day under the perception that it saves welfare budgets and even brings in foreign currency. However, the…
