KSS (Korea Social Service) Birth Family Search Checklist.
The following is a checklist of things to do as you prepare to start a birth family search through KSS (Korea Social Service).
This page is NOT relevant to Adoptees who were adopted through:
Holt
Eastern Social Welfare Society (ESWS) - previously Eastern Child Welfare Society (ECWS)
Social Welfare Society (SWS) - now Korea Welfare Society (KWS)
KSS (Korea Social Service) Birth Family Search Checklist.
Date Written: May 8th, 2024
Please read this list over in full. We know this looks overwhelming, but it’s best to know what to expect because you only have so much time when you are in Korea, and you don’t want to miss certain opportunities. Things are changing very fast in Korea with respect to the adoption landscape - KSS files may be moved to NCRC in July 2025, but we do not know exactly what will happen. For this reason we cannot more strongly recommend that any KSS Adoptee with an interest in birth family search request a birth family search AND their “KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary” NOW.
Find or obtain your original adoption paperwork from your adoptive parents (if possible). Please note that your original adoption paperwork may contain a mix of documents in Korean and English.
If you are able to find / obtain your original adoption paperwork, try to locate a KSS specific document called the “Adoptive Child Study Summary”. We refer to the version of this document that was given to Western adoptive parents as the “ENGLISH Adoptive Child Study Summary”. The style of this document changed over time. Please view examples of the ENGLISH Adoptive Child Study Summary here.
If you are able to find / obtain your “ENGLISH Adoptive Child Study Summary”, first READ it. Check to see if it does or does not contain any birth parent name/s or birthdate/s. Everyone’s case is different, and some KSS Adoptees have been surprised to find that their “ENGLISH Adoptive Child Study Summary” does contain birth parent names.
However, in thousands of cases, KSS falsified this document, and said that the child was “abandoned” and found with a “paper-slip” or “memo” in her or his “clothings” (sic). Even if your “ENGLISH Adoptive Child Study Summary” says that the birth parents are “unknown”, there is the possibility that KSS’ formerly SECRET “KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary” may contain birth parent information. See examples of the “KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary” here.
Please find / obtain as many adoption documents as you can. If you CANNOT find / obtain adoption documents, and you are a US Adoptee, you can file a FREE FOIA request. Even if you ARE able to find / obtain your adoption documents, you can and should file a FREE FOIA request. Please see the FOIA Request For US Adoptees page for more info. Please note that filing a FOIA request does NOT initiate a birth family search through any Korean or Western adoption agency. A FOIA request will NOT contain the KSS “KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary”. This is a document you can only obtain from KSS (see below):
If you wish to request a birth family search AND request your KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary from KSS, please visit the “Step By Step KSS Birth Family Search” page and scroll down the page about halfway until you reach the section called the “NEW! Illustrated Step By Step Guide To Initiating Or Continuing a Birth Family Search Through KSS.” Look for a gray background and white text to identify this section. Please view this page on a laptop or large screen device. Follow the GRAPHICS for filling out the forms for KSS.
We cannot more strongly recommend that you send us your completed forms to review for FREE BEFORE you submit them to KSS. EVERYONE makes mistakes on these forms and this can cost you YEARS of wasted time! You can email us your completed forms to: paperslipadoptee@gmail.com - We are happy to review and point out corrections you need to make in your forms for FREE.
Once you send KSS your two forms and copy of photo ID, KSS should respond to you within around 4 weeks.
Once you have received your “KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary”, you can additionally request additional documents ONE AT A TIME via KSS’ “Option D” method. Please see Step 7 on the “Illustrated Step By Step Guide” on the Step By Step KSS Birth Family Search page.
If you have not been to Korea before, consider applying for an Adoptee “homeland tour” such as the Mosaic Tour or GOAL’s First Trip Home. The Mosaic Tour is always in the Summer and you must apply by the December of the year before you want to go. Lots of people apply for this tour, and they prioritize those who have a recommendation or two from prior Mosaic Tour participants. Please note that you CANNOT have previously visited Korea as an adult in order to go on the Mosaic Tour. This tour also does not allow family members to accompany you on the tour. Please research tours carefully online to find out what is right for you.
If you plan to visit Korea, be sure to SCAN all adoption documents you have / are able to obtain. There is nothing more frustrating for someone who is trying to help you with a birth family search than an Adoptee who has scattered documents, or low resolution scans / photos of documents that cannot be read or seen clearly. Help others help YOU by organizing your documents in advance. Keep a digital copy in your email / Google Drive and take a copy on a thumb drive to Korea in case you need to make more prints there. However we strongly recommend that before you leave for Korea, that you make at least 3 printed packets of your adoption documents stapled together and placed in a folder, in case you need to show various officials in Korea. Korean officials will NOT help you if you do NOT have such documents. You also need to take your passport with you to the police and various government offices to prove your identity if you are seeking their help or trying to get a DNA test.
If you plan to visit Korea, be sure to check KSS’ online calendar and email them right away to set up an appointment. Appointments are booking up fast, so please plan your trip months in advance. For KSS contact information please see: Contact + Appointment Info for KSS - Korea Social Service - Korean Adoption Agency
If you plan to visit Korea, please see: Pro-Active Adoptee Birth Family Search Tips for further birth family search checklist items. Particularly read about Jumin Centers and putting up birth family search FLIERS / posters while you are in Korea. There are also other tips here about preparing for a trip to Korea.
If you plan to visit Korea, you need to line up a translator. If you are a KSS (Korea Social Service) Adoptee you can contact us at paperslipadoptee@gmail.com for a translator recommendation. You do NOT need a translator to visit KSS, as KSS social workers speak English. However we strongly encourage you take a supportive friend or relative to your visit to KSS, as it can be an emotional experience.
If you plan to visit Korea, you should try to take the Police Missing Person’s DNA test. In order to take this test at a police station in Korea, you will need your ADOPTION CERTIFICATE from KSS. The ADOPTION CERTIFICATE is NOT a historical document - it just proves to police you are an Adoptee. It is only valid for about 3 months, and KSS can provide it for you through a simple email request. You will need to take a printed version of your ADOPTION CERTIFICATE to police. Please note that IF you have birth parent info in your file - even in your SECRET “Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary” which you may not have previously known about - police will NOT consider your a “missing person” and you may be ineligible to take this test. For more information please see the DNA Testing page.
You can also take the Police Missing Person’s DNA test through a Korean consulate in your Western home country. For this you will need to request an NCRC Certificate from NCRC. You can email NCRC to request your NCRC Certificate. Please note that NCRC can take MONTHS to respond to your request.
Take ALL possible US Commercial DNA tests. The test which 325Kamra distributes is called FTDNA. But this is a very small test. Korean Adoptees who are serious about birth family search need to take ALL possible DNA tests. We recommend starting with 23 and Me and Ancestry (both paid tests). From Ancestry you can transfer raw data for FREE to FTNDA and MyHeritage.
Do not write on your DNA test profile that you are adopted. Do not immediately tell DNA matches to whom you reach out that you are adopted, as this can scare them away. Embrace the idea of being open to even 3rd and 4th cousin DNA matches…while it’s only possible to trace birth parents from a 2nd cousin or closer, you never know who may be able to help you one day in your search…they may not be that closely related to you, but they may be an awesome person and they ARE blood related to you.
For Those KSS Adoptees Who KNOW Birth Parent Name/s and Birthdate/s (or Birth Year/s):
For those KSS Adoptees who know some birth parent information - such as a birth parent’s first and last name and at least birth year - please know that if you are able to go to Korea, you can work with Korean police to try to find your birth parent/s in the Korean police national database. Every Korean police station has a “Missing Person’s Department”. You will need a translator who can set up an appointment for you in advance (or at least tell the police department that you are coming) and the translator will need to accompany you to the police station.
Things you will need to take to the police station:
PRINTED COPIES of your adoption documents, showing the name/s and birthdate/s (at least birth YEAR/S) of your birth parent/s.
We advise Adoptees to print at least 3 sets of copies of their adoption documents in their home country before leaving for Korea. Staple these documents together in packets and place them in a folder for safekeeping. Also take a thumb drive with your adoption documents in PDF format to Korea in case you need to print more copies - Korea has Kinko’s and other small print shops. But this wastes time to print in Korea - do it at home!
Your ACTUAL current passport (not a copy).
*Without copies of your adoption documents showing the birth parent info and your passport, police will not help you.
When you are at the police station with a translator, ask the police to bracket the BIRTH YEAR of your birth parent up and down by 2-3 years. So, for example, let’s say your birth parent’s name was Jin Hee LEE and her birthyear was 1955. Ask police to look for “Jin Hee LEE” who was born in 1955 first, but also ask them to look for “Jin Hee LEE” who was born in 1952, 1953, 1954, *1955*, 1956, 1957, 1958. Korean’s are not as exact about birthdates as we are in the West, so ask if a police officer will agree to bracket the birth year like this - by at least 2 years up and down from the birth year of the birth parent.
Please note that a Police Search is separate from a KSS search. There is no need to let KSS know you are going to try a police search. You should try both types of searches if you have birth parent information. Please note that you CANNOT do a police search with ONLY a name or ONLY a birthdate. You must have AT LEAST a birth parent’s first and last name and their birth YEAR in order to try this kind of search. Please do not waste the police’s time if you do not have this kind of information.