I declined to discuss my work with Paperslip when FRONTLINE / AP filmed my interviews in 2023 since KSS was still open — and I did not want to jeopardize KSS Adoptees’ chances of getting their files.
Above: A photo of my art studio in Seattle where FRONTLINE / AP filmed my interviews between June 30-July 1st, 2023. I had thought these interviews would be part of the documentary — but my story was ultimately cut from the documentary “for length”, and these filmed interviews were instead included in the AP article about my case along with the FRONTLINE / AP interactive which featured my case.
After filming at my art studio and at my apartment in Seattle, the FRONTLINE / AP crew and I all flew separately to Korea to film at IKAA, at my suggestion.
This photo is COPYRIGHT the owner, and my not be distributed without written permission.
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I deliberately decided NOT to discuss my work with Paperslip when FRONTLINE / AP filmed my interviews in 2023 since KSS was still open, and I did not want to jeopardize KSS Adoptees’ chances of getting their formerly secret Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary from KSS — which was still open at the time.
When FRONTLINE / AP filmed my interviews at my art studio in Seattle between June 30th-July 1st, 2023, I was asked by AP reporter Tong-hyung Kim to discuss my work with Paperslip. He had long known of my work, since I had first reached out to him to write a story about my investigation into Systemic Switching in January 2021. However, I decided not to discuss Paperslip during my filmed interviews, since at that time, KSS was still open in Seoul, and still operated Post Adoption Services.
Since first discovering and photographing the formerly secret Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary in the back of my own KSS file in 2018 — and first coining the term “Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary” in 2021, once I realized that this is what KSS itself called this document — I had always feared that KSS might retaliate against Adoptees if they knew I was the person behind Paperslip, by not continuing to provide this form for Adoptees. KSS was often vindictive toward Adoptees who pushed hard to access their own information. KSS only began to provide the Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary for KSS Adoptees regularly in 2021 once myself and one other KSS Adoptee accidentally figured out how to request and obtain it. At no point during these years did I take for granted that KSS would continue to provide this document, which they had NEVER regularly done prior to July 2021. I constantly feared that KSS would STOP providing this document for KSS Adoptees due to their vindictiveness.
Even after July 2021, if a KSS Adoptee was not already aware of the Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary’s existence and how to request and obtain it, KSS would NOT often independently inform them. I used Paperslip to educate KSS Adoptees relentlessly about how to request and obtain their formerly secret Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary between July 2021 to July 19th, 2025, which is when all former Korean Adoption Agency files — including those of KSS — were transferred to NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do. Since hundreds of KSS Adoptees were able to obtain their formerly secret Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary as a result of my volunteer efforts, examples of this document became the evidentiary backbone of the March 26th, 2025 Interim Report of S. Korea’s Second Truth and Reconciliation Commision (TRC 2).
Since the July 19th, 2025 transfer of all former Korean Adoption Agency files to NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonngi-do, I have used Paperslip to continue to educate KSS and all Korean Adoptees about how to request and obtain their files — now from NCRC.
I did, however, eventually allow Tong-hyung Kim to mention that I was a “Contributor” to Paperslip in the AP article he eventually wrote about my case, which was published in October 2024. However, I am the Co-Founder, and not only a Contributor. I thought a lot about the title I wanted to be assigned in the article with respect to Paperslip. Again, at that time, I wanted to downplay my role in Paperslip, since I did not want to jeopardize KSS’ Adoptees chances of obtaining their files due to KSS’ vindictiveness. This is due to the fact that I had been forced to battle KSS for years for access to my own adoption files — and those of my likely deceased twin sister. The information I have been able to uniquely obtain as a result of these battles — which have cost me an ocean of time, money, blood, sweat, and tears — have ultimately benefitted not only all KSS Adoptees, but many Korean Adoptees worldwide.
Now that KSS is PERMANENTLY CLOSED, I no longer fear their retaliation.
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Please see:
The Origins Of The FRONTLINE / Associated Press (AP) documentary "South Korea's Adoption Reckoning".
English Adoptive Child Study Summary
Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary
How Two US KSS Adoptees Figured Out How To Obtain KSS’ Formerly Secret ”Korean Adoptive Child Study Summary” In July 2021