Figure Out Your KOREAN Adoption Agency NOW BEFORE It Is Too Late.

A Few Adoptee Stages: You might be at one of these stages, or at a different stage in your Adoptee Journey.

No matter what stage you are at, you should know:

ALL Korean Adoption Files move from ALL 4 Major KOREAN Adoption Agencies to the Korean Government Agency NCRC (The National Center for the Rights of the Child) starting in July 2025!

The centralization of adoption files is happening in order to comply with the Hague Convention, which S. Korea is in the process of ratifying. Ratification could happen in 2025.

Birth family search AFTER JULY 2025 may be significantly delayed due to the massive transfer of adoption files. We simply DO NOT KNOW how long the delays may be, nor for how long they may last. We hope you HEAR US at your stage, before it is too late.

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Korean Adoptees: It’s TIME To Figure Out YOUR KOREAN And WESTERN (US, European, Canadian, or Australian) Adoption Agencies - IF You Have Interest In Birth Family Search.

This Is Because Your KOREAN Adoption Agency Is Often The BEST Place To Begin A Birth Family Search.

AND Because:
ALL Korean Adoption Agency Files Move To The Korean Government Agency NCRC (The National Center for the Rights of the Child) Starting in JULY 2025.

Birth Family Search Requests Submitted To Korean Adoption Agencies AFTER EARLY 2025 MAY Be Significantly Delayed Due To The MASSIVE File Transfer Process.

While Theoretically Birth Family Search Will Still Be Possible Through NCRC During / After The File Transfer, The Transfer Process May Take Up To 10 YEARS To Resolve.

The Best Place To Start A Birth Family Search Is Through Your KOREAN Adoption Agency. YOU NEED TO FIGURE OUT WHICH ONE IT WAS.

There were 4 Major KOREAN Adoption Agencies Designated in 1976 By The Korean Government. It Is TIME To Figure Out Which One Is YOURS:

  • HOLT Korea (Holt International is the WESTERN Holt Agency)

  • Eastern Social Welfare Society (ESWS) - formerly Eastern Child Welfare Society (ECWS)

  • Social Welfare Society (SWS) / now Korea Welfare Society (KWS)

    • *The adoption files of Child Placement Service (CPS) or International Social Service (ISS) Adoptees may now be with Korea Welfare Society (KWS). The adoption files of SOME International Social Service (ISS) Adoptees may now be with Korea Social Service (KSS) - depending on your case.

  • Korea Social Service (KSS)

    • *The adoption files of some International Social Service (ISS) Adoptees may now be with either Korea Social Service OR Korea Welfare Society (KWS) - depending on your case.

    • Please note that Paperslip.org is a site by and mainly for KSS Adoptees.

    • However Paperslip.org also contains info. relevant to ALL Korean Adoptees.

    • Please NOTE CAREFULLY what info is relevant to KSS (Korea Social Service) Adoptees ONLY and what info is relevant to ALL Korean Adoptees.

    • Please DO NOT contact KSS if you are NOT a KSS Adoptee as this will waste severely limited resources!

    • This is why it is so IMPORTANT to figure out YOUR KOREAN ADOPTION AGENCY.

How To Figure Out Your KOREAN Adoption Agency.

Please note that most Adoptees were adopted through a partnership between a KOREAN Adoption Agency and a WESTERN Adoption Agency. Unless you had a private adoption, most (not all) Korean Adoptees had a Korean Adoption Agency from 1976 forward.

What To Do Once You Know Your KOREAN Adoption Agency.

If You Are A KSS (Korea Social Service) Adoptee, Please See:

Paperslip’s Standard Birth Family Search Advice for KSS (Korea Social Service) Adoptees

Step by Step Korea Social Service (KSS) Birth Family Search.

KSS (Korea Social Service) Adoptees can reach out to paperslipadoptee@gmail.com for FREE birth family search advice and assistance.

It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for KSS Adoptees to CONTACT US at Paperslip BEFORE contacting KSS. This could save you YEARS of wasted time!

Apologies but we CANNOT handle the birth family search assistance requests of NON-KSS Adoptees for free. If you are NOT a KSS Adoptee please see:

NEW! Advisory Sessions:

ALWAYS FREE for Fellow KSS (Korea Social Service) Adoptees.

Paid 1-hour Sessions for Non-KSS Adoptees.

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If You Are NOT A KSS (Korea Social Service) Adoptee, Please See:

Korean Adoptee Starter Guide

Contact Info For The 4 Major Korean Adoption Agencies + Adoptee Facebook Groups

Birth Family Search Through The “Paperwork Trail” Can Be A Long Road With No Guarantees - But DNA Testing GUARANTEES That You Will Find At Least Some Blood Relatives.

DNA Testing:
https://www.paperslip.org/dna-testing

*Please be sure to read our advice about reaching out to DNA relative matches on the link above. We strongly recommend that you DO NOT mention you are adopted when you first reach out, as this easily can scare a person away.

We cannot more strongly recommend that Korean Adoptees with an interest in birth family search take ALL POSSIBLE DNA Tests. We recommend taking 23 and Me and Ancestry FIRST. Then you can transfer your raw data from Ancestry for FREE to FTDNA and MyHeritage.

This gets you on 4 tests for the cost of 2.

If you are full Korean then you will likely get the MOST matches on 23 and Me. If you are part-Korean (Hapa), then you will get a lot of matches on almost any DNA site (as more black / white persons take DNA tests than do native Koreans). However it is SO important to be on FTDNA as this is the free DNA test which has been distributed for years for free to both Korean Adoptees and BIRTH PARENTS IN KOREA by the KAD organization 325Kamra.

And you never know if some 1st or 2nd cousin is on MyHeritage.

We recommend that you take ALL POSSIBLE DNA TESTS if you can.