Visualizing the Numbers Behind the Korean "Orphan-Making" System
The numbers presented in the graphs come from Lee Kyung-eun’s (Ph.D. in law) research (Korea Times, April 2022), where she analyzes statistics from the Judicial Almanac of Korea and the Ministry of Health and Welfare. These figures highlight how children were systematically registered as orphans to facilitate international adoption—even when their biological parents were known.
Link to full article Court Submission on the ‘Orphan-Making’ Process (Korea Times, April 2022) here.
Data Visualization: Illustrating the Correlation between False Family Registrations and Overseas Aodptions
What Do These Numbers Represent?
- Orphan Hojuk Registrations: the number of child-only family registrations issued after an “abandoned child” report was filed. These were meant to document children with no known parents.
- Adopted overseas: the number of inter-country adoptions recorded by Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare.
As Lee highlights in her article, the number of children registered as “orphans” closely correlates with the number of children adopted overseas. The visualizations reinforce this pattern, showing that throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, the two numbers were nearly identical. However, from the 1990s onward, a structural shift emerges, with a widening gap between abandoned children and international adoptions. This reflects policy changes aimed at gradually reducing South Korea’s reliance on international adoption.
Recommended Reading
For a deeper understanding of the legal mechanisms behind this system, I highly recommend the following articles by Lee Kyung-eun. They provide a detailed breakdown of how the adoption system functioned, including:
- How family registrations were manipulated to classify children as “orphans” for adoption.
- The legal violations committed by adoption agencies and the Korean government.
- Why the majority of Korean adoptees were not actually abandoned children.
📄 Court Submission on the ‘Orphan-Making’ Process (Korea Times, April 2022)
📄 Adam Crapser vs. Republic of Korea (Korea Times, March 2022)