My KSS (Korea Social Service) file from NCRC.
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Photo taken of KSS’ former file room at its Post Adoption Services building prior to its closure in 2025. The photo was taken sometime between 2019-2025.
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I was recently able to obtain a scanned copy of my “full” KSS file from NCRC, following an in person visit to NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do in March 2026.
I am sharing a partly redacted version of my KSS file that I received a copy of from NCRC so that other KSS Adoptees can compare their own documents to mine.
Of course, depending on your case, you are likely to have different documents than mine.
Please see related:
Illustrated Catalog of Known KSS Documents.
There are also many related links at the bottom of this page.
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Some information in my KSS file at NCRC was new to me, and some documents were partly or fully redacted. There was some information which was missing.
However, NCRC is sharing FAR more than KSS ever did. I definitely consider it worth it for KSS Adoptees to submit a Petition for Adoption Information Disclosure request to NCRC.
Please note that if you do NOT submit such a request, NCRC will NOT scan your former Korean Adoption Agency file! So even if you have no interest in birth family search, for various other reasons relating to document acquisition, I strongly recommend that you submit your own Petition for Adoption Information Disclosure request to NCRC via the KAS website as soon as possible.
Even though I photographed my supposedly “full” file in 2018 at KSS, there were documents in my KSS file at NCRC which I had never seen before. Clearly, KSS had removed these documents prior to my visit in 2018. KSS likely put the documents back in my file following my visit. And KSS continued to collect documents over time — including emails, and oddly, a copy of a Chosun Ilbo Korean newspaper birth family search ad I had organized along with other Korean Adoptees a few years back.
I strongly recommend that KSS Adoptees (and any Korean Adoptees) submit a Petition for Adoption Information Disclosure to NCRC.
Please be advised that ALL former Korean Adoption Agency files will likely move from NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility to the Seongam Branch of the National Archives sometime in 2026.
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General Note:
The little stamped numbers at the bottom right of each page are by NCRC, not KSS. This is actually a nice feature. NCRC wants to make sure that Adoptees are aware they did not leave particular pages out of their former Korean Adoption Agency files, which are (for) now in the possession of NCRC.
I will say that I do not envy NCRC workers their jobs. They are always understaffed, and they have a LOT to do. It is not their fault that the Korean Government has deliberately underfunded their organization for YEARS. Please note that NCRC workers are NOT social workers — they are a continually rotating staff of civil servants.
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Below are partly redacted versions of my KSS file, which I received a digital copy of from NCRC, after visiting NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do in March 2026.
I have spent nearly a decade attempting to obtain documents from KSS. While I previously photographed my “complete” KSS file at KSS in 2018, there are definitely documents I obtained from NCRC in 2026 which I had not previously seen.
The information and documents below may NOT be shared without written permission outside the context of direct links to this page on Paperslip.
Thank you for respecting the THOUSANDS of hours spent sharing information with the KSS Adoptee community.
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“Exhibit A”.
Below:
The front of my KSS file folder.
The FRONT TAB of every KSS Adoptee’s file contains the same type of information.
The front tab of my KSS file folder — like EVERY KSS Adoptee’s file folder I have ever seen (and I have seen many at KSS) — contains the stamped initials of KSS’ Partner Western Adoption Agency through which the child was adopted — in my case, Welcome House, or “WH”. The stamp is in BLACK INK.
If you were adopted to the US through Welcome House, the initials of your Western Adoption Agency will likely be:
-“WH” for “Welcome House”
If you were adopted to the US through Lutheran Social Services, the initials of your Western Adoption Agency will likely be:
-“LSS” for Lutheran Social Services
If you were adopted to the Netherlands, the initials of your Western Adoption Agency will likely be:
-“W” for “Wereldkinderen”
-“NFIA” for “Netherlands Foundation for Intercountry Adoption”
If you were adopted to Denmark, the initials of your Western Adoption Agency will likely be:
-”AC” for “Adoption Center”
If you were adopted to Switzerland, the initials of your Western Adoption Agency will likely be:
-”TDH” or “TH” for “Terre des Hommes”
If you were adopted to the US through Love The Children, the initials of your Western Adoption Agency will likely be:
-”LTC” for “Love The Children”
If you were adopted to the US through Family Adoption Consultants, the initials of your Western Adoption Agency will likely be:
-”FAC” for “Family Adoption Consultants”
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To the right of the initials of the Partner Western Adoption Agency, is my 5 digit KSS K-Number, written in RED PEN. I discovered through my original KSS K-Number research that KSS K-Numbers are encoded in the first digit for KSS’ Partner Western Adoption Agencies. The first digit “1” in my KSS K-Number stands for “Welcome House”. Some KSS / Welcome House Adoptees’ KSS K-Numbers are styled as “K-1xxx” or “KW-1xxxx” — either a 4 or 5 digit K-Number. The earliest KSS Adoptees prior to Relinquishment Year (the year a child was first at KSS) 1968 have unencoded “123” type “Case Numbers”.
*Please note that KSS Adoptees who were first at KSS between 1964-1967 will likely NOT have an encoded KSS K-Number. They are more likely to have an unencoded 123 “Case Number”. Such KSS Adoptees were adopted in the early days of KSS (which was founded in 1964) through ISS (International Social Service), WH (Welcome House), and LSS (Lutheran Social Services).
To the right of the encoded KSS K-Number is the Korean orphan name of the Adoptee, such as “LEE Jin Hee”, written in BLACK PEN — where the CAPITALIZED “LEE” is the one word last name / surname, and “Jin Hee” is the two word first name. Koreans do NOT have middle names. They have two word first names instead.
Please note that the BACK TAB of every KSS Adoptee’s file folder contains additional, different information than the FRONT TAB of the file folder. Read more about that below.
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“Exhibit A1”.
Below:
“국내소속서류작성의뢰서”
(Request Form for Preparation of Domestic Affiliation Documents).
This is a very special form because prior to the transfer of all former Korean Adoption Agency files to NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do on July 19th, 2025, KSS literally NEVER shared this document with Adoptees — or with anyone outside of KSS.
I am the first and only person who is not a KSS employee to have photographed and shared this document. I photographed this document in my own file in 2018 at KSS. I have not previously made this public outside of KSS Adoptee forums, since other KSS Adoptees were NOT able to obtain this document from KSS.
Since 2020, I had a few KSS Adoptees attempt to obtain this from KSS prior to the file transfer to NCRC — however, none were successful in doing so. Therefore, I did not widely publicize this form, as it was previously impossible to obtain.
I am the first non-KSS employee to discuss the KSS “Child Number” — which is sometimes handwritten at the upper left of this form. It is presumed to be a number related to the INTAKE of a child at KSS. This was confirmed to me in person by KSS’ then Director in 2021 in the presence of multiple witnesses. KSS’ Director told me directly that the “Child Number” was phased out of use, presumably sometime after the 1970s, though the exact start and end date of KSS’ use of the “Child Number” is not known. I noted in person at KSS during visits between 2018-2025 that the younger KSS social workers had very little familiarity with the KSS “Child Number”.
Ironically, I had to explain KSS’ prior numbering systems to them.
Please see the link below for more information about the Child Number.
My original research about KSS’ various Numbering Systems has not been conducted by anyone else, and this research is officially COPYRIGHTED.
KSS Numbering Systems.
Below is a different KSS Adoptee’s form, titled:
“국내소속서류작성의뢰서”
(Request Form for Preparation of Domestic Affiliation Documents).
I have included this as translations for the categories on this form have already been added:
Image credit: Paperslip.org. You may NOT share this image without our permission.
Thank you to the KSS Adoptee who allowed us to use a redacted version of their 국내소속서류작성의뢰서 / “Request Form for Preparation of Domestic Affiliation Documents” form as an example.
We have added translations which were done years ago by a live Korean translator. Since that time we have made some translation revisions (specifically to the title of the document) via ChatGPT.
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“Exhibit B”.
Below:
사후상담일지
“Post-counseling Log” or “Follow-up Counseling Record.”
I’m sure this is where KSS social workers really piled on the compliments about me following my visits. Haha, just kidding, they hated me! How dare I attempt to obtain information about my history! A pox upon me! ;)
This page is fully redacted. In total, there are 6 fully redacted pages like this. The only visible information on these 6 pages is the document title.
These pages were not ones which were present in my KSS file which I saw and photographed at KSS in 2018. Apart from the fact that these documents were created AFTER my many visits to KSS over the years, KSS would never have left these types of documents on view for Adoptees to see during their visits to KSS. And certainly KSS never would have otherwise shared these documents with anyone outside of KSS. I did not know of this particular document until I received the scan of my KSS file from NCRC in April 2026.
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“Exhibit C”.
Below:
입양사실확인서
“Adoption Certificate”
Please note that this KSS Adoption Certificate is NOT an historical document. It is a “red tape” document which is needed for specific birth family search tasks, and is only good for 3 months of time from the date of issue.
Please note that I obtained this Adoption Certificate through email from KSS in 2025, prior to the transfer of all former Korean Adoption Agency files to NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do. This Adoption Certificate style is specific to KSS. It is also no longer valid.
Currently, Adoptees must obtain an Adoption Certificate from NCRC.
Please see:
ADOPTION CERTIFICATES - NCRC Will Accept Applications From July 19th, 2025 — *Via Email!
Adoptees need Adoption Certificates for such birth family search related tasks as:
-Visiting Jumin Centers, Police Stations, and City Halls in Korea
-Taking the Korean Police KNPA / DNA Test at a Police Station in Korea, or at a Korean Consulate / Embassy in your Western home country of residence.
As a general note, I had obtained this document through email from KSS in 2025 after making a direct email request, so there is nothing secret or special about this document.
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“Exhibit D”.
Below:
A photocopy of a Chosun Ilbo Ad I organized a few years ago.
Oddly KSS had collected a photocopy of this full size ad, which ran in one of S. Korea’s largest newspapers, for a nice big sum of money, which Adoptees in the ad split evenly. This was a bear to organize, and I will never do it again. It’s weird that KSS tracked me like this. KSS, you really CARED! ;)
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“Exhibit E”.
Below:
A nearly fully redacted KSS document, leaving its contents completely unknown to me.
This isn’t a document from the 1970s, as KSS’ website is listed in the document’s header. So this document was created in the 1990s or later. It was probably an internal KSS letter concerning my 2019 visit to KSS. But who knows. Buehler?
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“Exhibit F”.
Below:
Another nearly fully redacted KSS document, leaving its contents completely unknown to me.
The text next to the stamp at the bottom reads:
“한국사회봉사회장”
“President of the Korea Social Service Association.”
It’s signed by some person or people in charge of KSS in current times.
I’m pretty sure this relates to my 2019 visit to KSS.
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“Exhibit G”.
Below:
The back of my KSS file folder.
The BACK TAB of every KSS Adoptee’s file contains the same type of information.
KSS calls the YY-1234 Number which is handwritten in BLACK PEN on the BACK TAB of every KSS Adoptee’s file the “File Number”.
I colloquially call this number the “Exit Folder Number”.
The YY (last two digits of a 4 digit year) is the year a child DEPARTED Korea for adoption. The 1234 number is sequential according to date of Departure. It is unknown precisely what year this sequential 1234 number began to be used by KSS in its “File Number”. It is unknown when the “File Number” system itself began precisely.
Paperslip is the first and only site to discuss the KSS “File Number”. I photographed my own “File Number” at KSS in 2018.
It was apparently a number assigned to a child once she or he was sent from Korea to her or his Western country of adoption.
The “76” in my case stands for 1976 - the year I LEFT KOREA, NOT THE YEAR I WAS BORN.
I was born in 1975 but was not sent from Korea for adoption until 1976.
So my KSS “File Number” is 76-1234 (where 1234 is just a stand in for my real 4 digit sequential number).
KSS assigned the “File Number” NOT by year of birth, but by year of DEPARTURE FROM KOREA.
In some cases, this may be the same as the birth year.
But this was not the case for me.
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“Exhibit H”.
Below:
My 3 page document:
ENGLISH “Adoptive Child Study Summary”.
For comparison, when I first submitted a birth family search request to KSS in 2018, the only document they sent me through email was the FIRST page of my ENGLISH “Adoptive Child Study Summary” — a document which my adoptive parents already had in their possession.
Please note that the style of this document changed over time. Please click the link below to view examples of what I coined in July 2021 as the“ENGLISH Adoptive Child Study Summary” — to contrast it with the formerly secret “KOREAN Adoptive Child Study Summary”, which I discovered and photographed in my file at KSS in 2018.
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“Exhibit I”.
Below:
9 successive nearly fully redacted KSS documents, which would have left their contents completely unknown to me — had I not been able to view my file in person at NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do in March 2026.
However, thanks to the fact that I was able to visit NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in March 2026, I was able to view my KSS file directly, and I think I know what these documents relate to.
During a previous visit to KSS, prior to its closure — sometime between 2018-2025 — I had a miscommunication with KSS’ then Director about children related to certain numbering systems which KSS used.
I had asked about another KSS Adoptee related to a specific “Child Number” which I then erroneously thought was related to my case —but KSS’ Director misinterpreted this as my asking about my asking about a child with a specific “File Number”.
I think KSS researched the information of a specific KSS / LSS (Lutheran Social Services) Adoptee in response to my request. These documents most likely relate to that situation. So I do not believe that the child below has any sibling relationship to me — I think that KSS had just kept the information of this child in my file because they got confused about my request. But who knows…
