History of Adoption in Korea

Chapter 5

Darcy Mittelstaedt

Feb 28, 2024

Trend of Domestic and Intercountry Adoption

· The declining birth rate and social stability reduced the number of children with special needs, and the influence of the national policy to lower overseas adoption led to over 50% reduction of adoptees
· The share of domestic adoption continued to grow to 34.6% of all adoptions by the early 1990s, and the adoption of disabled children was around 1% of domestic adoption
· The share of disabled children in intercountry adoption increased again in the 1980s, taking up around 40% of children adopted overseas by the 1990s

Major Events

1994 Canceled the policy of a complete ban on overseas adoption
Implemented Foster Care system
1996 Domestic adoption rose while intercountry adoption naturally fell
End of intercounty adoption except for disabled children and mixed-race children
1997 Planned to lower intercountry adoption annually, making it harder to get intercountry adoption permission and establishing The Overseas Koreans Foundation
1998 Postponed the attempt to make it harder to get intercounty adoption permission, helping applicants to get intercounty adoption permission more easily, enacting enforcement ordinance and regulations on Act on Special Cases Concerning
Adoption Promotion and Procedures, seeking ways to boost the adoption of disabled children (after the IMF’s bail-out of the Korean economy), and establishing Global Overseas Adoptees' Link
1999 Established International Korean Adoptee Service (InKAS)
Established Global Adoption Information and post-services
Established Mission to Promote Adoption in Korea

The Enactment of Act on Special Cases Concerning Adoption Promotion and Procedures

In May 1995, the revised Act on Special Cases Concerning Adoption Promotion and Procedures was enacted by correcting the flaws in the Act on Special Cases Concerning Adoption. For instance, the revised law was aimed at eliminating obstacles to domestic adoption and making post-adoption services for intercountry adoption compulsory. The government also provided adoptive families with housing loans, medical expenses, educational costs, and living expenses. However, with the tradition of valuing blood ties and the reality of keeping adoption secret, the financial support for adoptive families did not act to vitalize domestic adoption. Consequently, with a new plan to accept intercountry adoption as an alternative to domestic adoption, the policy to stop intercountry adoption was withdrawn in August 1995.

IMF and Adoption

As Korea suffered a financial crisis in 1998 and was put under the supervision of IMF, children with special needs increased by 40% within a year, reaching 9,000 children. Most of them were from not only out-of-wedlock births by single mothers but also broken homes and dysfunctional families. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, the number of children with special needs soared, resulting in a temporary suspension of the intercountry adoption quota system.

The Establishment of Organizations for Adoptees and Adoptive Families

Intercountry adoption that had started since the Korean War sent approximately 150,000 children for adoption (as of 2000, based on the statistics of the Ministry of Health and Welfare) to 14 countries, including the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Australia.
Koreans adopted overseas autonomously formed organizations for Korean adoptees in places they grew up intending to find their identities as Korean adoptees. There are already more than 20 organizations around the world. Moreover, as Korea began to distinguish itself on the international stage since the 24th Seoul Olympic Games in 1988, the number of visits by Koreans overseas to Korea increased. They come to their homeland to find their identities, roots, and families and to learn about Korean culture and language. This led to the emergence of organizations for post-adoption services of intercountry adoption since the late 1990s, such as Global Overseas Adoptees' Link (G.O.A.'L) and International Korean Adoptee

Service (InKAS).

Moreover, with the national awareness of Korea's long history of intercountry adoption as well as the changing public opinion on domestic adoption, the Mission to Promote Adoption in Korea was established by domestic adoptive families to promote and enhance domestic adoption and change the public perception of adoption. In July 1999, the Adoption Information Center was established to provide integrated and professional post-adoption services for domestic and overseas adoptees.