Adoption Scandal Families Fight

Stolen Generations: South Korea's Decades-Long Adoption Scandal Unravels

A mother’s forty-four-year search for her abducted daughter has cast a harsh light on South Korea's controversial overseas adoption programme. Allegations of kidnapping, falsified documents, and human trafficking are forcing a national reckoning with a system that sent hundreds of thousands of children abroad, often under questionable circumstances. Now, families torn apart are demanding answers and accountability.

For Han Tae-soon, a day in May of the year 1975 holds the last cherished memory of Kyung-ha, her female offspring, as a young child in their Seoul home. Ms Han recalls preparing to visit the local market. She asked Kyung-ha if she wished to come along. The child replied she would rather play with her friends. Upon Ms Han's return, Kyung-ha had vanished. This disappearance marked the beginning of an agonising separation. This period would extend over four decades plus some years.

The eventual reunion brought Han Tae-soon face-to-face with Laurie Bender. Bender, a grown American female, presented an appearance almost completely changed from the little girl lost so long ago. Ms Han alleges a devastating sequence of events. Kidnappers snatched Kyung-ha in proximity to their residence. They then delivered her to an institution for parentless children. Subsequently, an illegal process sent her to the United States for adoption into a different household. This heart-wrenching story is not unique. Han Tae-soon now sues the administration of South Korea. She accuses it of negligence in preventing her daughter's illicit adoption. Hundreds of others have voiced similar, damning allegations. They speak of widespread deception, unlawful adoptions, child abductions, and the trade of human beings. These abuses occurred within South Korea's contentious system for international child placement.

A Nation's Shame: The "Mass Export" of Children

South Korea holds a grim distinction. No other nation has dispatched such a high quantity of youngsters for adoption in foreign lands. Nor has any country sustained this practice for such an extended period. Estimates suggest that from 170,000 up to 200,000 young people experienced adoption internationally since the programme's inception during the 1950s decade. The vast majority of these children found homes in Occidental nations.

An official investigation of landmark status in March 2025 delivered a scathing verdict. It found successive administrations in South Korea culpable of human rights infringements. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission concluded that a severe supervisory deficiency allowed private organisations to "mass export" young individuals. These organisations, the commission found, operated on a vast, profit-driven scale. Experts believe these findings could pave the way for additional legal actions targeting the national authority. Han Tae-soon's case, scheduled for a judicial hearing in the coming month, represents one of two pivotal legal actions. She is the inaugural biological maternal figure of an internationally adopted individual to seek financial redress from the state. In 2019, an American adoptee initiated the primary lawsuit of this type.

The government of South Korea, through a representative, expressed profound sympathy for the deep distress felt by separated families. The representative added that the administration viewed Ms Han's situation with sincere regret. They stated it would undertake appropriate measures contingent upon the trial's final decision.

Image Credit - BBC

A Mother's Unyielding Quest for Justice

Now 71, Han Tae-soon remains resolute. She demands the administration accept responsibility for its past failings. She recounted the devastating toll of her lengthy search spanning decades. She stated that she dedicated forty-four years, damaging her physical well-being and mental state, looking for her lost girl. She questioned if, throughout that immense duration, anyone had ever offered an apology, answering, "Nobody. Not even one time."

For many years, Ms Han and her spouse tirelessly pursued every possible lead. They frequented police department facilities and child welfare institutions. They distributed flyers and made television appeals, desperate for any information. Ms Han detailed the physical hardship of her quest, indicating she walked the streets to the point where all ten toenails detached. Hope flickered in 1990. Following a TV appearance, Ms Han encountered a female she thought might be Kyung-ha. She even welcomed this individual into her family's home for a period. However, this person later admitted she was not the missing daughter.

The crucial breakthrough finally arrived in 2019. Ms Han registered with the group 325 Kamra. This entity connects Korean adoptees living abroad with their families of origin by comparing DNA profiles. Soon, they informed her of a genetic correspondence: Laurie Bender, a nurse residing in the state of California. After some telephonic exchanges, Ms Bender flew to Seoul. At the arrivals hall, an emotional, tear-filled meeting occurred. As they held each other, Ms Han passed her fingers through Kyung-ha's hair. She explained that, having worked as a hairdresser for three decades, she could swiftly ascertain if it was her daughter by the hair's texture. The initial words she spoke to her daughter conveyed profound remorse.

The Painful Reconstruction of a Stolen Childhood

Together, Han Tae-soon and Laurie Bender (Kyung-ha) pieced together the harrowing events of that specific date in the May of 1975. Six-year-old Kyung-ha was enjoying playtime near her family dwelling. An unfamiliar female came up to her. This individual falsely asserted an acquaintance with Kyung-ha's mother. She then cruelly told the child her maternal parent no longer had a need for her. The woman took Kyung-ha towards a railway terminal. After a journey by locomotive, Kyung-ha found herself left alone at the line's ultimate destination. Law enforcement officers eventually found her. They subsequently placed her in a children's home. Shortly thereafter, authorities flew her to the United States. A married pair in the state of Virginia adopted her.

Many years later, official inquiries revealed the falsification of her documents. Officials recorded her as a forsaken young one whose parentage was not known. Kyung-ha previously described the experience. She characterized it as a feeling akin to having lived an inauthentic existence where everything one believed true was, in fact, false. Her story, tragically, was not a singular occurrence. Many adoptees have discovered their adoption files contain erroneous or absent details. Others found their given identities were entirely fabricated.

Roots of a Troubled System: War, Poverty, and Profit

South Korea's programme for adoptions overseas emerged from the devastation following the 1950-53 Korean War. The conflict left the nation deeply impoverished. Approximately 100,000 young people became orphaned or displaced. In that period, domestic adoption of children not biologically related was uncommon. The administration initiated the international adoption scheme, presenting it as a venture for humanitarian good.

Non-governmental adoption organisations handled the programme completely. While nominally under state supervision, these entities gradually obtained considerable independence via legislative alterations. As their influence expanded, so did the quantity of young individuals dispatched to foreign lands. This trend escalated during the 1970s decade, reaching its highest point in the 1980s. For the year 1985 by itself, authorities sent over 8,800 children to other countries. A very large requirement originated from Western nations. Reduced birth figures and fewer domestically adoptable babies led families there to seek children from other regions.

A "Trade in Children": Exploitation and Deception

Photographic evidence from that period shows aeroplanes destined for Western nations, their cabins full of Korean young people. Swaddled infants were often secured into passenger seats. The official investigation by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission starkly described this as the "large-scale conveyance of children as if they were merchandise." The commission's findings allege a disturbing insufficiency of attention for these youngsters throughout lengthy air travel. One documented instance from 1974 involved a child with lactose intolerance. This child received milk during transit and, as a consequence, passed away soon after reaching Denmark.

Critics have for a long time raised questions regarding the rationale for sending such a high volume of children to other countries. This practice continued even as South Korea itself was undergoing swift economic expansion. A BBC Panorama programme from 1976 featured South Korea among multiple Asian nations dispatching young individuals to the West. An observer cited in the programme depicted the circumstances as "uncontrolled" and resembling "a commerce in young people... moving from Asia towards Europe and North America." The truth and reconciliation body's findings state that international adoption entities fixed numerical targets for children. Korean organisations readily met these targets. It became a lucrative business. The absence of official oversight allowed Korean entities to levy considerable sums and request undisclosed payments, frequently called "donations."

Unscrupulous Means and Falsified Identities

Some young individuals might have been procured via unethical practices. Parents such as Ms Han assert their children were abducted. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s decades, authorities gathered thousands of youngsters without homes or adequate supervision. They put these children into state-run children's homes or social welfare institutions as an element of a countrywide effort to "improve public spaces." Other parents received terrible news that their infant children had become seriously ill and perished. In truth, these babies were living; they had been transferred to adoption organisations. Furthermore, agencies often neglected to secure proper agreement from birth mothers before their children were taken for adoption, as the truth and reconciliation body detailed.

The official findings also indicated that adoption entities intentionally misrepresented details in adoption files. This was done to simplify processes and rapidly address the strong demand for adoptable children. Lost youngsters discovered without any identifying papers would be documented in official records as if deserted and thus eligible for adoption procedures. If a young person already selected for adoption passed away or their biological family reclaimed them, agencies would then substitute a different child. This replacement child assumed the first child's official identity. Such methods permitted agencies to circumvent the need for refunding adoption payments and also to accelerate the overall adoption pathway. Many years later, these deceptions have caused immense hardship for numerous overseas adoptees who try to find their original families.

Image Credit - BBC

Voices of the Victims: Demanding Truth and Accountability

Han Boon-young is a co-creator of a rights group for overseas adoptees. The organization advocates for improved access to information about origins. She conveyed that they are casualties of governmental force, yet no tangible proof exists. She emphasized that this absence of paperwork must not lead to their suffering for a second time. She identified this as a matter of fundamental human entitlements. She cited abductions and manipulated documents as clear violations during the inter-country adoption system. She stressed the urgent need to advance toward healing, acknowledging these past events, and ensuring those responsible face consequences.

However, some principal individuals and entities continue to refute any misconduct or maintain their silence. The BBC made contact with Bu Chung-ha. During the 1970s, he was the chairperson of Holt International, South Korea's most prominent adoption organization. Holt is implicated in many accusations of deceit and unlawful adoptions. The organization is a defendant in at least two legal actions, one involving Ms Han. Mr Bu offered a brief response.

He refuted claims that the agency, under his leadership, dispatched any children incorrectly designated as orphans to foreign countries. He controversially asserted that parents claiming their children were taken "did not suffer loss of their children; they forsook them." The current leadership at Holt International had not provided a statement to the BBC's inquiry when the initial report was made. In more recent times, Holt Korea has refuted allegations of improper actions. They suggest adoptee grievances arise from misinterpretations and historical social welfare challenges in Korea.

The State's Role: Complicity and Policy

Specialists contend that accountability rested not only with non-governmental organisations but also with governmental bodies. Dr Lee Kyung-eun, a scholar of international law at Seoul National University, affirmed that adoption entities manipulated the existing framework. She observed that the administration essentially ignored these widespread exploitations, which allowed illicit activities to become established. Shin Pil-sik, who researches transnational adoption at Seokyeong University, characterized the administration as the "vessel's commander" and the agencies as the "oarsmen." He argued this arrangement allowed both parties to avoid direct blame.

Dr Shin additionally noted the state was not merely an uninvolved bystander. It actively formulated adoption regulations. This encompassed establishing yearly targets for international placements and, at times, halting certain adoptions. An inquiry by Associated Press the previous year discovered that sequential Korean administrations altered legislation. These changes removed basic protections and judicial scrutiny. They adjusted their statutes to align with American laws, making children more readily adoptable by US families. Foreign households could adopt Korean youngsters quickly, frequently without ever making a trip to the country. While the administration presented the initiative as a humanitarian act, commentators suggest it also aimed to fortify relations with Western powers. A 1984 state paper acquired by the BBC revealed that official adoption strategy objectives included child well-being alongside "promoting future national power and fostering person-to-person diplomacy."

A Shift Towards Reform and Domestic Solutions

When asked regarding the government's participation in historical adoption activities, South Korea's ministry for health and welfare mentioned continuous endeavors "to reinforce state accountability." It also intends to encourage adoptions that adhere to global norms. In the year 2012, the administration amended adoption legislation. These modifications aimed to intensify the examination of prospective adoptive parents and enhance the tracking of biological parent details and birth-related information. The Special Adoption Act from 2011, which became operative in August 2012, sought to increase domestic adoptions and reduce international ones. It established a seven-day reflection period after childbirth before parents could agree to adoption and required family court endorsement, thus making adoptions public record.

Additional reforms aim to ensure that international adoptions are kept to a minimum. The state, rather than non-governmental bodies, will oversee all adoption proceedings. These alterations are scheduled for implementation in July of 2025. The Ministry of Health and Welfare reiterated its dedication to a public adoption framework and the revitalization of domestic adoption. Their goal is for children to secure new parents within their home country. New regulations will also assist parents adopting older children or those with health issues. Channels for consultation and application for those wishing to adopt will consolidate under the MOHW and the National Center for the Rights of the Children (NCRC). All Korean adoption documentation will be moved to the NCRC by July 2025.

International adoptions have decreased markedly. Following a substantial fall in the late 1980s and a period of stability during the 1990s, the figures declined once more in the 2010s. Only 79 young individuals were adopted by families abroad in 2023, based on the most current statistics. This is a stark difference from the 1985 peak, when 8,837 children departed overseas.

The Lingering Trauma and Difficult Reunions

As the nation of South Korea addresses this somber period, adoptees and biological parents like Ms Han continue to face deep emotional distress. Following their first meeting, Ms Han and Kyung-ha have found it challenging to sustain a strong interpersonal bond. They reside on different continents. Her daughter has lost most of her Korean language ability, while Ms Han has limited English proficiency. They maintain contact through infrequent text messages. Ms Han devotes two hours each day to improving her English.

This is insufficient for Ms Han. She lamented that even after locating her daughter, it does not feel like a true rediscovery. She knows her daughter’s location, but finds little comfort if they cannot properly communicate. She feels her whole life has been devastated. No sum of money, she asserts, could ever atone for her profound losses. The psychological toll on adoptees is also considerable. Many confront identity crises, the distress of unknown origins, and difficulties in searching for birth families. Research highlights themes of managing adoption, mental well-being challenges, and distress linked to minority status among Korean adoptees.

The Truth Commission's Findings and Ongoing Fight for Justice

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's inquiry started in 2022. It followed petitions from 367 adoptees and identified systemic shortcomings. Its interim report in March of 2025 confirmed infringements of human rights in 56 instances. The commission determined that adoption organisations falsified or concealed paperwork, a practice the administration enabled. Agencies dispatched infants as "deserted children" even when they were missing or had parents. The state granted agencies considerable latitude in what the commission termed a "commerce in children."

The commission advised the administration to issue a formal apology. It also suggested arranging remedies for those impacted. However, the commission's work halted in April 2025. Internal disagreements arose over which cases qualified as human rights infringements. This occurred just one month prior to its May 26 deadline. This cessation has cast doubt on future comprehensive investigations into the programme. Adoptees and advocates persist in their protests. They demand accountability and thorough examination of all unresolved cases. The struggle for truth and justice for South Korea's separated generations is ongoing.