This page is for KSS (Korea Social Service) Adoptees ONLY.

This page is NOT relevant to Adoptees who were adopted through:

-HOLT
-Eastern Social Welfare Society (ESWS) - formerly Eastern Child Welfare Society (ECWS)
-Social Welfare Society (SWS) / now Korea Welfare Society (KWS)

If you are adopted through any Korean Adoption Agency which is NOT KSS (Korea Social Service), please see:

Korean Adoptee Starter Guide:
https://www.paperslip.org/korean-adoptee-starter-guide

Thank you!

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

KSS Adoptees: We are happy that you found Paperslip!

We are going to share a lot of information below, please take your time to read it over. It may look intimidating, but it’s basically filling out TWO FORMS to email to KSS with a copy of your photo ID. However, almost EVERYONE makes mistakes on these forms, and those mistakes can cost you YEARS of wasted time! So we offer to review your completed forms for free BEFORE you submit them to KSS. Just email us at paperslipadoptee@gmail.com when your forms are complete. We will reply to you quickly!

One thing to note - KSS files will start to move to the Korean Government Agency NCRC (National Center for the Rights of the Child) starting in July 2025, and after that happens KSS will likely PERMANENTLY CLOSE its “Post Adoption Services” and there will be nothing left of KSS in Seoul. All birth family search requests will then have to go through NCRC, which will likely have SIGNIFICANTLY LONGER RESPONSE TIMES THAN KSS currently has, as NCRC plans to hire ONLY 5-6 birth family search workers TOTAL to handle ALL birth family search requests from Korean Adoptees around the WORLD - and there are about 250,000 Korean Adoptees TOTAL, of which there are “just” 20,000 TOTAL KSS Adoptees! So we cannot more strongly recommend that IF you have ANY interest in birth family search that you submit your TWO OFFICIAL FORMS to KSS BY EARLY 2025, in order to give KSS enough time to respond to you BEFORE the file transfer to NCRC in July 2025!

Please note that the KSS “KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary” is a document which we did NOT know how to obtain until mid 2021! So if you have NOT OFFICIALLY requested this document since 2021, you likely DO NOT have this document! The “KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary” is NOT THE SAME AS the ENGLISH “Adoptive Child Study Summary” which many KSS Adoptees already have, as the English version was provided to their adoptive parents at prior to the time of adoption. However the “KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary” was kept SECRET by KSS for 57 years, from 1964-2021!

Please note that IF your "KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary" contains birth parent names, KSS will partly redact this information per strict Korean privacy law. However, IF your “KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary” contains birth parent information, then KSS can conduct a birth family search for you in conjunction with NCRC, based on the information in the file ASSUMING you fill out the TWO KSS FORMS CORRECTLY.

We recommend that ANY KSS adoptees interested in a birth family search request BOTH a birth family search AND their “KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary” at the SAME time as soon as possible, BY EARLY 2025! However, please take your time to read this over, and you can reach us anytime via email at paperslipadoptee@gmail.com

Paperslip does NOT directly represent KSS in any way! We are fellow KSS Adoptees who are happy to help you get started for FREE in the initial stages of your search, and also help and advise you throughout the process. 

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KSS Birth Family Search:

There is an important formerly secret document called the “KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary” which you can NOW OFFICIALLY REQUEST via KSS’ birth family search process (TWO FORMS). Please note that just requesting this document does NOT initiate a birth family search through KSS - you must ALSO request a birth family search IF you want to do that. You can do so simply by following the instructions below: 

In order to begin a birth family search (BFS) and / or request your Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary, it just requires filling out 2 simple forms, assuming you are over 18. (If you are under 18 you must fill out a THIRD form). For complete instructions, please see the "Illustrated Step By Step Guide" about halfway down the page here: 

Step By Step KSS Birth Family Search:
https://www.paperslip.org/step-by-step-kss-birth-family-search

Please be sure to read the page though as it contains very important info!

*VERY IMPORTANT!!! Please be sure to check options A, B, C AND D (assuming you want to request a birth family search in addition to your Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary) and be sure to write "KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary" next to Option D!!! You don't have to use caps for KOREAN but this is really important that you include this EXACT text.

Examples of the formerly secret “KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary”:
https://www.paperslip.org/korean-adoptive-child-study-summary-examples-and-translation-keys

We definitely recommend viewing this page on a laptop and not a phone so that you can see the GRAPHICS which show you EXACTLY how to fill out the forms! There is also a downloadable PDF GUIDE of the GRAPHICS which you can use to make sure your forms are filled out correctly.

We also recommend typing and not handwriting the forms (except for your signature, which MUST be HAND SIGNED), as the forms will go to Korean speakers and you want the info to be clear and not mistakeable. Please be sure to read the link above for important info.

Once you have filled out both forms, please email them to us at Paperslip to review them for you for FREE! Adoptees often make MISTAKES on these forms, and these mistakes can cost you YEARS of wasted time! We will quickly review them and let you know if they are ok to send to KSS. You are not obligated to allow us to review your forms, but we highly recommend this. Simply email your 2 forms (do NOT send us your photo ID) to: paperslipadoptee@gmail.com

KSS will take about 1-4 months to respond to your request. KSS will NOT send you an acknowledgement of your email, they will simply respond in full when they are ready. So be SURE to get their email address CORRECT so you do not waste time!

Later, after you have submitted your forms to KSS and hear back from them, let us know and we can further advise you!

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DNA Testing:

Because so much Korean adoption paperwork is often falsified, we cannot more strongly recommend doing ALL possible DNA tests:

We recommend taking 23 and Me and Ancestry first, then transferring raw data for free from Ancestry to FTDNA and MyHeritage. You will get the MOST DNA matches from 23 and Me, but it is so important to take ALL POSSIBLE DNA Tests!

More info here:
https://www.paperslip.org/dna-testing

For DNA questions we recommend joining the Facebook group:

DNA tested Korean Adoptee's and Korean War Veterans and their children:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/794123673965176

How to transfer your raw DNA data for free:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/794123673965176/search/?q=how%20to%20transfer%20dna

Please note: If you reach out to cousin / relative matches on DNA sites, just remember the golden rule: DO NOT tell the person you are adopted until you have formed a relationship of trust. Doing so will always scare a person off. We would not recommend that you connect to a person on Facebook if it's obvious you are adopted from your profile - you might consider setting up a separate Facebook profile that is totally non-KAD related for connecting to DNA matches.

We think people usually greatly underestimate their DNA cousin matches, and get disappointed when they cannot find birth parents or close cousin matches. However many people we know have connected with family through DNA testing and this route is a guarantee of finding at least some blood relations, whereas the paperwork trail can often be disappointing. 

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FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) Request for US Adoptees:

For US Adoptees ONLY - you can file a FREE FOIA request for your US immigr. records, which often contain a treasure trove of adoption documents. Adoptees we know have gotten between 50-150 pages of documents through a FOIA request! Sometimes, though not always, FOIA adoption documents MAY contain birth parent information. This is never a guarantee, but it is POSSIBLE!

Please note that filing a FOIA request does NOT initiate any birth family search through your Korean or US adoption agency (it is a totally separate process). Please be sure to read the link below carefully. You will need your A (Alien Number) and Korean name spelled in English (example: Jin Hee LEE, where LEE is the last name) that was used at entry to the US. You should also use your maiden name (if applicable) and married name where it asks for this info. on the forms. Please read the entire page below CAREFULLY BEFORE filing your FOIA request!

https://www.paperslip.org/foia-request-for-us-adoptees

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KSS Cribmates - Private Group of Over 1,000 KSS Adoptees on Facebook:

If you are on Facebook, you are welcome to join the private group KSS Cribmates to connect with the community. Please note that ONLY KSS Adoptees themselves - not adoptive parents or spouses - may join:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1472813756273368

However you must have a real Facebook account with a profile photo, and you must answer the membership questions, or your request may be declined. If you do not have a real Facebook account, you can send us a copy of your English Adoptive Child Study Summary or other KSS documentation to prove that you are a KSS Adoptee. If you do not know the answers to the membership questions, simply write “I don’t know” and email us at paperslipadoptee@gmail.com so that we can determine if you are a KSS Adoptee. We certainly want KSS Adoptees to be a part of our community but also want to make sure that only verified KSS Adoptees join our group.

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Please feel free to reach out with any questions! paperslipadoptee@gmail.com

Thank you!