IMPORTANT Info For KSS (Korea Social Service) Adoptees With Interest In Birth Family Search After July 19th, 2025.
Posted to Paperslip on May 25th, 2025.
For KSS (Korea Social Service) Adoptees who have an interest in birth family search after July 19th, 2025, please know that the landscape of birth family search has radically changed!
If you are a KSS Adoptee, please read this page VERY CAREFULLY.
We do not have the time to explain this one-on-one outside of the context of a paid Zoom session, so we strongly recommend that you READ this page COMPLETELY so that you understand what is going on.
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IMPORTANT UPDATE — May 26th, 2025: Subject: KSS Update on Post-Adoption Services and Policy Changes.
KSS recently wrote the following important information to a KSS Adoptee. Please note we have refined this message and added our own information in red to help clarify KSS’ meaning:
Please refer to the official NCRC notice attached to this email, (download the PDF here - it is in multiple languages including English) which outlines recent policy changes regarding the transfer of historical adoption records to NCRC. Going forward, the processing of such petitions (birth family search requests) will be handled exclusively by the NCRC and related government agencies (NCRC / KAS).
Although these changes will take effect after July 2025, the Korea Social Service (KSS) office will continue to operate and offer post-adoption services to the extent possible on a case-by-case basis. We will also continue to listen to Adoptees’ needs, including those that fall outside the scope of services provided by the NCRC. Please feel free to reach out to us again after July 19th, 2025 if you have further questions or concerns.
Warm regards,
Korea Social Service, Inc.”
Please note that this last statement by KSS is VERY important — it sounds like KSS will remain open for an unknown amount of time AFTER July 19th, 2025 when the files are SUPPOSED to begin to move from KSS to the Korean Government Agency NCRC. However, NCRC is really woefully unprepared for this massive transfer of adoption files from all of the major Korean Adoption Agencies — including KSS — so there MAY be some DELAYS in the file transfer from KSS to NCRC, meaning that KSS MAY have control of it's files past July 19th, 2025. This does NOT mean that KSS can pursue a full birth family search past July 19th, 2025 — however, it MAY mean that KSS might continue to provide KSS Adoptees with the “Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary” for an unknown (likely short) period of time past July 19th, 2025. KSS has admitted they don’t know exactly what is happening with the file transfer to NCRC. So please follow our instructions for completing KSS’ 2 required birth family search forms in the section below AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!! You can still try to request your formerly secret “Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary” — but you can only do so following our specific instructions below for filling out KSS’ 2 forms and submitting your photo ID to KSS — or KSS will NOT provide you with this document.
PLEASE NOTE: YOU MUST FOLLOW THE PROCEDURE BELOW IN ORDER TO MAKE THIS KIND OF REQUEST TO KSS. YOU CANNOT SIMPLY EMAIL KSS TO VERBALLY REQUEST DOCUMENT/S AND / OR A BIRTH FAMILY SEARCH, YOU HAVE TO FILL OUT THEIR FORMS FOLLOWING OUR GUIDE IN ORDER FOR KSS TO FULFILL YOUR REQUEST!!!
Please see the process below for this.
If you are a KSS (Korea Social Service) Adoptee ONLY, please see below for KSS’ contact information.
Please do NOT contact KSS if you are NOT a KSS Adoptee! This will only waste VERY limited resources!
We strongly suggest that you ALSO contact us at paperslipadoptee@gmail.com to share information about what KSS’s responses to you are.
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Temporary Process For Requesting A Birth Family Search And Your Formerly Secret “Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary” From KSS:
KEY CONCEPT TO UNDERSTAND:
It is important that KSS Adoptees understand that a request for a document such as the formerly secret “Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary” is a DIFFERENT kind of request from a birth family search request.
However, BOTH kinds of requests can be made on the SAME form by completing KSS’ Application and Petition forms following our instructions (see section below).
However, for a LIMITED time, you might still be able to request and receive your formerly secret “Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary” from KSS IF you follow our procedure carefully below!
You cannot simply email KSS to make a verbal request, you MUST FILL OUT KSS’ FORMS IN THE CORRECTWAY and send them a copy of your photo ID — the process which we have described below!
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IF you are a KSS (Korea Social Service) Adoptee ONLY please download the two WORD forms below and FILL THEM OUT using the GUIDES.PDF document to help you fill out the forms.
Please do NOT contact KSS if you are NOT a KSS Adoptee! This will only WASTE VERY limited resources!
Please note: IF you are a KSS Adoptee — you MUST complete BOTH the Application AND Petition forms for KSS (2 forms total).
PLEASE MAKE YOUR KSS Application and Petition forms look EXACTLY like the Paperslip PDF Guide — of course, using your OWN information when filling out the forms. We strongly recommend trying to locate your ENGLISH Adoptive Child Study Summary if possible — this document would have been provided to your adoptive parents at the time of your adoption. IF this document contains birth parent information, be sure to carefully BACK UP this document in multiple ways — you may NEVER be able to get this information again!!!
We strongly recommend that you TYPE your form responses — not handwrite. (If you don’t have Word then you can download the PDF versions of the forms and USE CLEAR HANDWRITING TO COMPLETE THE FORMS). However you will need to HAND SIGN BOTH FORMS. Inserting a digital signature is fine.
If you have to handwrite your forms, that’s fine, just be sure to make your writing CLEAR.
Please save yourself and us time by ACTUALLY FOLLOWING OUR PDF GUIDE for filling out KSS’ forms — there is no time to waste!!! Once you complete BOTH of KSS’s forms (Application and Petition) — please note if you are a MINOR you will need to ALSO complete the Disclosure form — using the Paperslip PDF GUIDE for filling them out, you are welcome to submit your forms to us at paperslipadoptee@gmail.com for a FREE review of your forms — BEFORE you submit them to KSS. Adoptees OFTEN make critical mistakes on these forms — these mistakes could cost you YEARS of wasted time! When you submit your forms to us for a FREE review, we will also email you additional details about how to email your forms to KSS, and what to say in your email!
WE HAVE LIMITED TIME SO PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK THAT YOUR FORMS LOOK LIKE OUR PDF GUIDE BEFORE YOU EMAIL US YOUR FORMS FOR A FREE REVIEW!!!
However, IF you feel confident that your forms are correct then you can email them directly to KSS — see KSS’ contact info here.
When you email KSS, you will need to include BOTH of KSS’ completed forms (do not include our PDF GUIDE) AND a copy of your CURRENT photo ID (passport or drivers license — show the page with your photo).
At this point in time, KSS will NOT have time to complete a search for birth family — this process usually takes 3-6 months, and KSS does not have that long before July 19th, 2025. However, KSS might have time to send you your formerly secret “Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary”IF you request it the RIGHT WAY through KSS’ forms.
IF YOU DO NOT REQUEST THE “KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary” PROPERLY THROUGH KSS’ FORMS FOLLOWING OUR PDF GUIDE, YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE THIS DOCUMENT FROM KSS!!!
We are not sure exactly when KSS will STOP providing the Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary, so we strongly recommend that you continue to try — even after July 19th, 2025. However it is best to try this process AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!!
Please note: the procedure above is described in more detail in the “Illustrated Step By Step Guide” section about halfway down this page:
If you are reading this on May 25th, 2025 or later, it may be TOO LATE to submit a birth family search request to KSS, which will likely PERMANENTLY CLOSE sometime after July 19th, 2025. However, you can still try to request your formerly secret “Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary” from KSS for a limited time following the process outlined in the section above — just be warned that KSS takes 2 months to respond to any request, and there are now less than 2 months left before the file transfer from KSS to NCRC begins on July 19th, 2025.
However, KSS’ recent response (see section above) indicates the KSS may continue to provide limited post-adoption services to KSS Adoptees on a case-by-case basis past the July 19th, 2025 deadline.
For KSS Adoptees whose birth family search requests have NOT been responded to by KSS by July 19th, 2025 — it is unclear what happens to your request. We strongly recommend that KSS Adoptees in this situation ASK KSS what they should do if their birth family search requests are not completed by July 19th, 2025. We believe it’s highly likely that KSS Adoptees in such a situation will have wait until mid-September 2025 to submit a NEW request through NCRC / KAS.
Korean Adoptees who were adopted through ANY of the major Korean Adoption Agencies — including KSS — will NO LONGER be able to conduct a birth family search through those Korean Adoption Agencies after July 19th, 2025. ALL future birth family search requests will have to be made through NCRC / KAS (more info below).
We are frankly NOT going to be able to explain all of this on an individual basis to Adoptees — KSS Adoptees or otherwise — for free. If you want us to break it down for you on an individual basis, and advise you about your specific adoption case, we offer PAID Advisory Sessions for both KSS and non-KSS Adoptees via Zoom.
Since many Korean Adoptees — both KSS and non-KSS Adoptees — are going to have the same lengthy questions, we have provided this FREE SELF-SERVE GUIDE to address the most common concerns regarding the future of birth family search after July 19th, 2025.
KSS Adoptees ONLY may join the private Facebook group KSS Cribmates — please be sure to answer the membership questions, or your request may be declined.
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Please note thatwhile this page is written primarily with KSS (Korea Social Services) Adoptees in mind, the information here is broadly applicable to ALL Korean Adoptees — except where noted that information specifically applies to KSS Adoptees ONLY.
Please note that KSS (Korea Social Service) was the SMALLEST Korean Adoption Agency. KSS ONLY adopted to the US, Netherlands, Denmark, and Switzerland between 1964-2012. If you were adopted to other countries, you are NOT as KSS Adoptee.
Please note that KSS (Korea Social Service) is NOT the same as HOLT, Eastern Social Welfare Society (ESWS) - formerly Eastern Child Welfare Society (ECWS), or Korea Welfare Society (KWS) - formerly Social Welfare Society (SWS).
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PREFACE:
Please note that the information below may seem overwhelming. We know that birth family search can feel like a scary, lonely process — and frankly, sometimes, it really just is. However, the information below is intended to help inform you about what is possible in the constantly evolving landscape of birth family search. And the entire Paperslip site has been FREE for Adoptees since 2020. There are plenty of free resources here for Adoptees to peruse at their leisure.
Please note that you should take things at your own pace, and seek out Adoptee Community — whether online or in person — for support when necessary.
You can start by checking out our Resources page here:
We also know that each Adoptee, as they “come out of the fog” to confront their past, may experience a great deal of confusion and a roller coaster ride of emotions.
Please understand that it is for this reason that we offer individual Zoom sessions for Korean Adoptees who were adopted through any Korean Adoption Agency, though our primary area of expertise is KSS (Korea Social Service). We do not offer in-country birth family search services — however, we can walk both KSS and non-KSS Adoptees through the landscape of birth family search possibilities, and try to make sense of the various current options. For many Adoptees, it can help to have a guiding hand in the midst of a confusing process.
Contrary to the beliefs of some Adoptees, is not realistic to believe that we can individually walk every Adoptee out of the fog through a Zoom who desires to receive guidance for free. There are THOUSANDS of Korean Adoptees coming out of the fog due to recent media events concerning Korean Adoption, and we cannot hand-hold each person through their individual process without charging for our time. Anyone who believes that we should needs a reality check.
Adoptees are often adverse to paying anything for birth family search, but in our experience, Adoptees will waste thousands of dollars running around Korea cluelessly without knowing what to do, and refuse to pay for any help. An inexpensive Zoom might save you years of wasted time, and thousands of dollars.
That said, no one — including us — can guarantee that you will find your birth family. We offer Adoptees a realistic picture of what their options are in terms of search. We have received nothing but positive feedback from those who have engaged our individual services.
We have walked hundreds of KSS Adoptees through the process of birth family search through KSS for years for FREE — since 2020.
However, with the coming transfer of ALL Korean Adoption Agency files to NCRC starting July 19th, 2025, we will have less of a role in encouraging KSS Adoptees to request and obtain their formerly secret “Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary” from KSS, since KSS will presumably PERMANENTLY CLOSE after July 19th, 2025. We do not know how easy it will be to obtain the “Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary” from NCRC / KAS in the future. Of course we encourage ALL KSS Adoptees to TRY.
We at Paperslip carved out the path to requesting and obtaining the “Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary” from KSS in 2021:
We are proud to have helped hundreds of KSS Adoptees to obtain this important document.
However, with the file transfer from KSS to NCRC beginning on July 19th, 2025, we simply do not know how long it may be before NCRC / KAS are able to identify / locate the adoption documents of KSS Adoptees — including the “Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary” — a document which KSS has had in its possession for nearly every KSS Adoptee from 1964-2012.
It is the “Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary” which sometimes, though not always, contains birth parent information, even if the SAME KSS Adoptee’s English documents say they are “abandoned” with “unknown parents”.
In cases where the “Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary” DOES contain birth parent information, NCRC / KAS will be able to conduct a birth family search. However, KSS Adoptees SHOULD NOT ASSUME that NCRC / KAS will have instant / orderly access to KSS’ documents instantly following the file transfer. In fact, KSS Adoptees should assume that the NCRC / KAS file transfer process may NEVER be dealt with properly. We will not sugarcoat the grim reality of NCRC’s failures and negligence in handling adoption related files.
In fact, for those KSS Adoptees who ALREADY HAVE birth parent information in the documents which THEY HAVE in their possession, it is best to assume that the Adoptees themselves should provide COPIES of this information to NCRC / KAS in order for NCRC / KAS to conduct a search. Some KSS Adoptees have unredacted birth parent information in the adoption files in their possession. While KSS Adoptees might naturally trust NCRC / KAS to have this SAME information from KSS, KSS Adoptees should NOT assume this to be the case!!!
IF you have birth parent information in the adoption files in your possesion, please see and read carefully:
KSS Adoptees are welcome to join the private, KSS Adoptee ONLY Facebook group KSS Cribmates - this is the best source of the most up to date information about KSS birth family search. Please be sure to answer the membership questions, or your request may be declined.
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Below is SELF-SERVE information about the evolving landscape of birth family search after July 19th, 2025.
This information is relevant to ALL Korean Adoptees — including KSS Adoptees:
Please note that Adoptees who have more in-depth questions about the information below should contact us regarding a paid Advisory Zoom Session. Please understand that we simply cannot answer everyone’s in-depth questions about their cases for free. Please contact us: paperslipadoptee@gmail.com if you have in-depth questions about your personal case, and have interest in a paid Advisory Session.
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SELF-SERVE Information About Birth Family Search After July 19th, 2025:
Starting July 19th, 2025, by law ALL Korean Adoption Agency files — including those from KSS (Korea Social Service) — will begin to move to the Korean Adoption Agency NCRC. For questions about this process, please see:
Please note that after July 19th, 2025, you will no longer be able to submit a birth family search through KSS (Korea Social Service) — or through ANY other Korean Adoption Agency.
You will need to wait until mid-September 2025 to submit a request through NCRC / KAS. Please see:
Because the file transfer from ALL Korean Adoption Agencies to NCRC may take up to 10 YEARS to completely “sort out” — even assuming it ever is sorted out properly — it is SO important to BACK UP YOUR EXISTING ADOPTION DOCUMENTS IN MULTIPLE FORMATS (PRINT AND DIGITAL) NOW!!!
You may NEVER be able to obtain this information again from any source!
Please note that DNA Testing will take on even greater importance in the context of the current landscape of birth family search. Please take ALL possible DNA Tests if you have interest in finding blood relatives:
Information for KSS (Korea Social Service) Adoptees ONLY:
Please note that we hope that KSS Adoptees will be able to get their formerly secret “KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary” from NCRC / KAS in the future. We have spent over a YEAR warning KSS Adoptees to request this document from KSS prior to the file transfer to NCRC starting July 19th, 2025 — and we have been the only KAD led organization (or ANY organization) to do so. However, sadly many KSS Adoptees will miss the boat — since, through no fault of their own, they were not ready to do a search, or simply never heard our message.
Due to the chaos which will likely be a part of the file transfer of ALL Korean Adoption Agency files to NCRC beginning July 19th, 2025, we do not know what the future will be in terms of file access for KSS Adoptees. We HOPE that KSS Adoptees will continue to be able to request and obtain the formerly secret “KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary” — however we do not know what the future will look like in terms of file access through NCRC / KAS. That is yet to be determined.
Please note that your adoptive parents should have been provided with what we call the “ENGLISH Adoptive Child Study Summary” at the time of your adoption. While this document sometimes claims falsely that a KSS Adoptee is “abandoned” and found with a “paper-slip” or “memo” in her “clothings” (sic), there are many cases where KSS Adoptees have birth parent information in their “ENGLISH Adoptive Child Study Summary” documents.
This information is SO IMPORTANT TO BACK UP IMMEDIATELY IN MULTIPLE FORMATS as IF you lose this information, you may never receive it again from KSS or NCRC / KAS!!! English Adoptive Child Study Summary Examples
KSS Adoptees ONLY should request to join the KSS Adoptee only private Facebook Group “KSS Cribmates”. Please be sure to answer the membership questions, or your request may be declined. If you do not know the answers to the membership questions, please email us at paperslipadoptee@gmail.com
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We are sure that there will be many changes in the coming years in the continually evolving landscape of birth family search.
If there is important information which you think we should know, or if there is information which you think needs to be corrected, please email us at paperslipadoptee@gmail.com
Good luck out there — and please seek Adoptee community, support, and guidance when you need it.
