The Korean Adoption Agency Eastern Social Welfare Society (ESWS) / Formerly Eastern Child Welfare Society (ECWS) Announces Winding Down of Post Adoption Services.
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Below: Letter From Eastern Social Welfare Society (ESWS) / Formerly Eastern Child Welfare Society (ECWS).
Posted to Paperslip - January 28th, 2025
The letter above reads:
”Eastern Social Welfare Society
26, Yeonhui-ro, Seodaemun-gu Seoul, Korea (zipcode 03784)
Phone: (02)332-3941-5
Fax :(02)324-3985
Jan. 10, 2025
Greetings from Eastern Social Welfare Society!
We appreciate your cooperation to ensure that post-adoption services could run smoothly over the past year. We do hope that God's blessings will overflow on everyone at your agency in the new year.
With the new Adoption Act coming into effect as of July 19, 2025, there are many changes expected with adoption agencies, and we are sending this letter to make a few notifications in preparation for the transition of post-adoption services to the government.
ESWS has been committed over the past 53 years to providing post-adoption services for adoptees, adoptive families, birth families and foster families, and we will continue to do so within our capacity until adoption work is transferred to the government. However, winding up all the adoption work in the process of the transition involves lots of follow-up tasks. Accordingly, we came to realize that in order to handle all the tasks while providing the same post-adoption services as in the previous, we will need more work force than expected and face enormous limitations and difficulties.
Through much consideration and discussion, we have set the following guidelines with a heavy heart, and we would like to seek understanding from your agency and adoptees.
In 2025, we will accept applications requesting for post-adoption services including birth search and visits by April but we regret that we have no choice but to limit the number since a large number of cases already received and processing must be completed prior to transferring the government. This decision was made considering the timeframes set for the longest period of time for birth search results to come out and time taken until its completion. Therefore, it is difficult this year to provide services for the tour groups that have visited every year. Additionally, we are no longer able to accommodate short notice or unscheduled visits, and please notify would-be visitors that they must make an appointment in advance.
As of July 19, 2025, adoption files and all the international adoption work will be transferred to the government, and we will no longer have any adoption files with us and will not be able to provide the same post adoption services through documents as before. Even if that happens, however, we will always be happy to welcome adoptees and tour groups who wish to take a tour of ESWS.
We would like to reiterate that we have made this difficult decision in order to complete the adoption process as best as we can and to provide better post adoption services for adoptees.
If you have questions regarding this, please let us know any time.
Thank you
Sincerely,
Lee, Hwa Sun Director, Adoption Services Dept.
Eastern Social Welfare Society”
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*Please Note:
EASTERN is a DIFFERENT Korean Adoption Agency Than Korea Social Service (KSS), Holt, and Korea Welfare Society (KWS) / formerly Social Welfare Society (SWS).
However, ALL Korean Adoption Files Will Be Transferred From ALL The Major Korean Adoption Agencies to The Korean Government Agency NCRC in July 2025!
*Please note that if you are a KSS (Korea Social Service) Adoptee, you still have a LITTLE time left to request BOTH a birth family search AND your formerly secret “KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary” (a document specific to KSS Adoptees ONLY) - BEFORE KSS files move to NCRC.
Please note that following the movement of ALL Korean Adoption Agency files to NCRC in July 2025, Korean Adoptees will still be able to request a birth family search through NCRC. However, we anticipate MAJOR ISSUES with the file transfer!
ACT NOW!!!
IF you are a KSS Adoptee ONLY, please contact us at paperslipadoptee@gmail.com for URGENT / FREE assistance!
If you are NOT a KSS (Korea Social Service) Adoptee, please see:
The Same Questions That Korean Adoptees Ask All The Time