Uncovering Adoption: Articles & Investigations
This page is a collection of news articles and investigative reports related to transnational and transracial adoption from Korea. These sources highlight ethical concerns, adoption fraud, child laundering, and the long-term impact on adoptees and birth families.
Investigations & News
South Korea’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission Extends Investigation (Associated Press, January 22, 2024)
An extended probe into past human rights violations, including falsified records in international adoptions. Read more
Swedish Investigator Probes Falsified Origins in South Korean Adoptions (Associated Press, March 22, 2023)
A Swedish legal expert is investigating whether Swedish authorities were aware of falsified child origins during the adoption of thousands of South Korean children.
Read more
South Korean Adoptee Speaks Out About Abuse After Forced Overseas Adoption (News1 Korea, February 9, 2023)
A Korean adoptee shares her harrowing experience of being forcibly adopted to France without parental consent, suffering abuse from the first day, and later discovering that her adoption records falsely listed her as an orphan. [Article in Korean]
Read more
South Korea’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission to Investigate Foreign Adoptions (Associated Press, December 8, 2022)
The commission will examine cases of South Korean adoptees in Europe and the United States who suspect their origins were falsified during a mid-20th-century child export surge.
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South Korean Parents Speak Out About Losing Their Children to International Adoption (News1 Korea, February 7, 2023)
South Korean parents recount how their children were taken for international adoption without proper consent, many falsely registered as orphans, and the devastating impact of family separation—where only 3% of adoptees have been able to reunite with their birth families. [Article in Korean]
Read more
South Korean Adoptees Push for Investigation into Suspected Adoption Fraud (Associated Press, November 15, 2022)
Korean adoptees in Europe and the U.S. are demanding a government probe into falsified records and unethical adoption practices that separated them from their birth families.
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Hundreds of South Korean Adoptees Demand Government Probe into Suspected Adoption Fraud (Associated Press, September 13, 2022)
Nearly 300 South Koreans adopted by Western parents are urging the government to investigate their adoptions, suspecting falsified documents were used to expedite child exports.
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Survivor of Abusive Facility Searches for Lost Korean Roots (Associated Press, June 11, 2022)
A survivor of the notorious Brothers Home in Busan, South Korea, embarks on a journey to uncover her true identity and locate her biological family.
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Court Submission on the ‘Orphan-Making’ Process (Part 2) (The Korea Times, April 10, 2022)
An analytical piece exploring how South Korean legal procedures were manipulated to classify children as “orphans,” enabling their transnational adoption.
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Legally ‘Orphaned’ to Be Adopted Transnationally (The Korea Times, June 12, 2021)
An in-depth analysis of how legal classifications in South Korea facilitated transnational adoptions, often misrepresenting children’s true origins.
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Abusive South Korean Facility Exported Children (Associated Press, November 9, 2019)
An investigation into Brothers Home, a South Korean facility that kidnapped and abused children and the disabled, revealing its role in sending children overseas for adoption as part of a profit-driven enterprise.
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Articles in Swedish
Swedish Adoption Investigator Finds Evidence of Illegal Adoptions in All Examined Countries (Dagens Nyheter, Juni 18, 2023)
A Swedish government investigation has uncovered evidence of illegal adoptions in every country examined, revealing systemic corruption and misconduct in international adoption processes. [Article in Swedish]
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Adoptionscentrum Ceases New Adoptions from South Korea (Dagens Nyheter, November 27, 2023)
Swedish adoption agency Adoptionscentrum has announced a halt to new adoptions from South Korea. [Article in Swedish]
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“They Said: ‘Your Child Will Be Unhappy If You Keep It'” (Dagens Nyheter, June 21, 2021)
This article highlights how mothers in Korea were pressured to give up their children for international adoption. [Article in Swedish]
Read more
Academic Research & Studies
Research on International Adoption in Sweden
Hjern, A. & Vinnerljung, B. (2022) – Health and Social Living Conditions of Internationally Adopted Individuals in Adulthood. A study commissioned by MFoF examining mental health, employment, and family formation among international adoptees in Sweden. The research highlights persistent challenges in psychiatric care, social relationships, and economic stability, urging government intervention. [Read the full report here].