Birth Family Search Can Feel Like The Hunger Games—Stay Informed.

Most Korean Adoptees in the West are accustomed to a culture of “Customer Service”. Unfortunately, many of us are in for a rude awakening when it comes to birth family search in Korea — which is often far more like “The Hunger Games” than it is like a customer service experience.

As many Korean Adoptees do not grow up around many other Korean Adoptees, a lot of us grow up unaware that there are quite literally THOUSANDS of us around the world — and that we unfortunately have to compete for the few resources available to us regarding birth family search.

This page is meant to encourage those who are new to the landscape of birth family search to understand that you will need to WORK to stay informed in order to advance your search.

This may mean joining various Facebook groups, even if you do not like social media. As many Korean Adoptees were born in the 1970s and 1980s, many of us are on Facebook. Of course, many Korean Adoptees are also on platforms like Instagram, but there is not the same kind of community connection on Instagram as there is on Facebook. If you are not on Facebook, you are quite literally missing out on important information shared in various Korean Adoptee Facebook groups — the vast majority of which are private.

It will help if you create a Facebook profile, even if you only use it to join these Korean Adoptee groups. Be sure to use a profile photo of some sort so that Admins of the groups can identify you as a Korean Adoptee.

Also, be sure to actually check in every once in a while. One thing which is tricky is that if someone attempts to message you on Facebook with whom you are not “friends”, the message will go to a hidden area in your Facebook messages called “message requests”. This is often a major impediment for people attempting to contact one another who are not connected as “friends”.

If you already have a Facebook account and are a KSS (Korea Social Service) Adoptee, be sure to join our PRIVATE KSS Adoptee ONLY group called KSS Cribmates. Please be sure to answer the membership questions, or your request will be declined! If you are not sure if you are a KSS Adoptee or not, you can email us at paperslipadoptee@gmail.com

If you already have a Facebook account, be sure to follow our PUBLIC Paperslip Facebook page. This is the best way for those who are not Korean Adoptees to keep up with updates.

Also, be sure to check in for updates on our Paperslip Blog. We frequently post information here, which may not be cross-posted yet to other areas of Paperslip.

There are also many Korean Adoptee related Instagram pages. It can be helpful to create an Instagram account to keep up with various Korean Adoptee related accounts.

In general, birth family search can take a LOT of WORK. It’s up to you as an individual Adoptee to keep on top of information, as best you can — since birth family search is definitely NOT a customer service experience!

We’re happy to try to guide you through the jungle of this experience through our paid, private Zoom Advisory Sessions.

Good luck out there!