My visit to NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do.
Image credit: Paperslip.org
Posted to Paperslip on April 3rd, 2026.
I recently visited NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do in March 2026.
I included what I did and did not find in my KSS (Korea Social Service) file, now housed at NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility, in my TRC 3 submission.
I filed my TRC 3 case INDEPENDENTLY at the TRC office in Seoul on March 27th, 2026.
I have already photographed my entire file at KSS (Korea Social Service) in 2018, but I wanted to visit NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do to see what files KSS had preserved, and what they had removed prior to the FIRST transfer of all former Korean Adoption Agency files on July 19th, 2025. I also wanted to see my file before the coming SECOND transfer from NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do to the Seongam Branch of the National Archives, sometime in 2026.
Please Note: You CANNOT just show up to either of NCRC’s two current locations without an appointment. You must follow a few procedures and schedule an appointment online in advance. Please read this ENTIRE page so that you understand the procedure before visiting either of NCRC’s two locations!
I took PRINTED COLOR PHOTOS of the documents which I had photographed in my KSS file in 2018. I used these to double check what KSS had preserved, and what they had removed in my KSS file, prior to the transfer of this and all other former Korean Adoption Agency files to NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do on July 19th, 2025. I won’t go into the surprises from my file review here, but I DO strongly recommend that you do something similar, IF you have any adoption documents in your possession. If you don’t have any adoption documents, don’t worry, this is all the more reason to go to NCRC’s two locations — to see what they have, and what they will share.
Please note: Adoptees are NOT allowed to photograph or film their file review. Adoptees are ONLY allowed to take notes. For this reason, I strongly recommend that you take a Korean translator with you during your file review. Otherwise, if you don’t read Korean, the visit will be relatively meaningless from the point of view of understanding what you are seeing in the room. And if you do NOT get a copy of your documents from NCRC’s Main Office in Seoul — a wholly SEPARATE NCRC location where you must set up a separate appointment after your file review at NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do — you may not retain anything meaningful from your file review at all (unless you have a photographic memory, which you probably do not).
I do know of other Korean Adoptees who received some additional information from their NCRC file review meetings at NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do. So this is definitely possible. There were indeed a few surprise extra documents in my own KSS file which I saw at NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility during my visit in March 2026. I have included what I did and did NOT find in my KSS file in my TRC 3 submission — which I conveniently arranged to happen AFTER my visit to NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility.
IF you plan to submit your case to TRC 3, then I strongly recommend that you do the same — plan to submit your TRC 3 case AFTER you first visit NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility (to view your file), and if possible, NCRC’s Main Office in Seoul (to get a copy of your file).
Because the National Archives has a higher standard for archiving paper and other materials than does NCRC, ALL of the files and objects which are currently stored at NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do will have to be treated for pests PRIOR to their entry to the Seongam Branch of the National Archives. Predictably, this has introduced a new set of horrors for our files. NCRC and the National Archives have decided to treat the files with chemical pesticides, which is sure to damage some types of sensitive older files. These organizations could have opted to take the longer route of treating these documents, but that would have taken four years of time. Also predictably, the Korean Government has provided NO additional budget for this additional process. So NCRC’s highly limited staff is now tasked not only with dealing with the sorting out of the FIRST transfer of all former Korean Adoption Agency files to their Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do — but ALSO with preparing for the SECOND transfer to the Seongam Branch of the National Archives. All while attempting to fulfill the desperate Petition for Adoption Information Disclosure requests being submitted online through the KAS website by Korean Adoptees around the world. We don’t envy them their jobs.
We should note that the movement of our adoption files from NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do to the Seongam Branch of the National Archives was something which Korean Adoptee activists pushed for. This was always going to be a lose / lose situation unfortunately. While ostensibly, moving our files to the Seongam Branch of the National Archives seems like a better plan than keeping them at NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, this SECOND movement introduces a new set of risks of loss and damage for our adoption files, since anytime our files get moved, there is always going to be the opportunity for loss / damage.
Additionally, it is unclear exactly WHEN the files will be treated and moved. We predict that NCRC will give Adoptees very little NOTICE of when they will just shut down to treat the files with chemical pesticides. This will surely interrupt the plans of some Korean Adoptees who will travel to Korea specifically for the purpose of visiting NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do. If the past is any indication of how NCRC operates, our guess is they will shut down during the busy Summer months or during IKAA in October 2026 — whatever is most inconvenient for Adoptees. But we really have no idea exactly when they will shut down. Of course, we will share if we learn anything about their timeline, though we are unlikely to get much advance notice.
I will say that if you have the means to visit Korea to visit NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, you should do so rather sooner than later. However, no one right now can predict exactly when they will shut down in advance of the SECOND transfer to the Seongam Branch of the National Archives, so we REALLY hope that your trip is not the ONE trip you can ever take to Korea, and we hope that your planned visit to NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do is not interrupted. Unfortunately, this will almost certainly happen to some Adoptees.
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Please Note:
NCRC has TWO locations, and the photos on this page are from:
NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do.
*Please Note:
This is where ALL of the former Korean Adoption Agency files are currently stored. However, as mentioned above, these files will likely move to the Seongam Branch of the National Archives at some unknown date in 2026.
NCRC has a separate Main Office in the main part of Seoul.
*Please Note:
NONE of our former Korean Adoption Agency files are located at NCRC’s Main Office in Seoul. Currently, ALL former Korean Adoption Agency files are located at NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, which the video and photos are of below. This is where I visited in March 2026.
However, you can ONLY get a COPY of your file at NCRC’s Main Office in Seoul — you CANNOT get a copy at NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Gyeonggi-do.
So if you want to BOTH view AND get a copy of your file, you must book two SEPARATE appointments, at NCRCs’ two SEPARATE locations.
The mind reels.
For information about BOTH of NCRC’s current locations, please see:
Address and Contact Info For Important Locations Related To Birth Family Search Through NCRC.
Please note that you CANNOT just drop in to either location. You must make an online appointment first:
How To Book An Appointment At NCRC’s Two Locations in Korea.
In order to book an appointment at NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, you must:
FIRST submit a Petition for Adoption Information Disclosure to NCRC via the KAS website.
Pro-tip:
IF you plan to visit Korea in person, you do NOT have to wait until your Petition for Adoption Information Disclosure is fulfilled BEFORE you book an appointment to visit NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do.
In other words, you should FIRST submit your Petition for Adoption Information Disclosure to NCRC via the KAS website. Then maybe wait a day. Then book your in-person appointment at NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do online (see link above). As with all things related to Korea, things will get done faster when you actually physically GO to Korea in person.
Who needs those thousands of travel dollars, anyway? </sarcasm>
If you plan to visit NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do with GOAL or other translator — which we strongly recommend — then you will need to coordinate with GOAL / your translator to make sure they are available on the day that you plan to visit NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do.
You will need to stay flexible when coordinating all of this.
Please note that GOAL has a yearly fee, but its PayPal system is currently accidentally overcharging folks — so we strongly recommend that you instead make payment in cash (Korean Won) in person instead. Contact GOAL directly with questions. Also, if you plan to meet at GOAL, note that they are on the upper floor of a pretty confusing building to navigate. So you should ask how to navigate within the building to find their office if you plan to visit in person. GOAL is good people, so be sure to treat them well.
Also, please bear in mind that NCRC will book up FAST in the Summer travel months and during the IKAA conference in October 2026, when hundreds of Korean Adoptees from around the world will be in Seoul.
NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do only schedules 3 appointments per day, 3 days per week. Convenient!
Bear in mind that you can only book an appointment at NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do about 3 months in advance. So the process of getting an appointment is going to be a little like booking concert tickets.
To learn how to submit a Petition for Adoption Information Disclosure to NCRC via the KAS website, please see:
ALL Korean Adoptees Start Here!
General Birth Family Search Steps Through NCRC — Overview.
Please Note:
Because NCRC loves to make our lives complicated, even if you visit NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, you will likely NOT get a complete copy of your file there.
In order to get a photocopy of your file, you will need to book a SECOND appointment at NCRC’s Main Office in Seoul.
NCRC will alternately offer to email you a copy of your file, if you cannot pick up a copy at NCRC’s Main Office in Seoul. However, expect months long wait times for anything that is NOT done in person in Korea!
NCRC workers at their Main Office in Seoul don’t speak much English, so get comfy with your language translation app of choice (we recommend ChatGPT). Of course, NCRC’s Main Office in Seoul does NOT offer Wi-Fi, so hopefully you will have roaming data on your phone.
Of course, you can also take a translator.
Be sure to try to book an appointment at BOTH locations if possible — in coordination with GOAL and / or your translator of choice — because Petition for Adoption Information Disclosure requests which are submitted only ONLINE through the KAS website will take MONTHS longer to fulfill than simply plunking down thousands of dollars for that trip to Korea. Win!
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I don’t hate the NCRC Temporary Storage Facility, though I am sure if our files stay there, NCRC will find a way to destroy them. Let’s face it, NCRC will find a way to do that anyway.
Below: On the way to NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do.
Not gonna lie, I kind of like the NCRC Temporary Storage Facility building, but that is because I love industrial architecture. It’s honestly kind of cool. The sprinkler issue on the inside, however, I don’t love.
Anyway, below is a video of the circular driveway — you don’t need to walk up this thing, there’s an elevator! But I just took some video because I think it looks cool. This portion looks like Korea’s refrigerator version of The Pantheon.
Video credit: Paperslip.org
Below: You enter up the ramp to the first floor of the building, and signs direct you to the elevator to the right and through a door which you have to take to an upstairs floor.
I think it’s the 4th floor. Prominent signs will direct you.
Below: Once you are inside the building, more signs will direct you where to go. You must take an elevator upstairs, I believe to the 4th floor.
Image credit: Paperslip.org
Image credit: Paperslip.org
Below: This is the 4th floor I believe, where NCRC’s meeting space of its Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do are located.
Please do not confuse this with NCRC’s Main Office in Seoul. That is a different location entirely.
Image credit: Paperslip.org
Image credit: Paperslip.org
Inviting! But not gonna, lie, the metal doors are pretty interesting. That scary looking door on the right leads to the elevator. NCRC staff will monitor you as you leave. There are cameras in the hallways, so be on your best behavior!
Image credit: Paperslip.org
There’s a long hallway with bathrooms on the left, and NCRC’s main meeting space on the right. There is just ONE meeting space, so NCRC can meet with just ONE Adoptee at a time. There are some chairs at the end of the hall where Adoptees can wait.
Pro-tip:
There’s a big ol’ space between the window and the wall at the end of the hall, which means anything you say can be heard directly by NCRC staff inside their office.
Image credit: Paperslip.org
Image credit: Paperslip.org
Image credit: Paperslip.org
Image credit: Paperslip.org — our AI generated representation of what NCRC’s meeting room at their Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do looks like. On one side of a center plastic divider sits the NCRC worker. NCRC workers are not social workers, they are government civil servants. On the other side of the plastic divider you will sit with whomever you bring with you to the meeting. This can be a GOAL representative, translator, family members, etc. You just need to indicate when you schedule an online appointment how many people are coming with you. NCRC appears to allow up to three people to come with you. Others may wait in the hallway during your file review, where you will see your original Korean Adoption Agency file. However, you will NOT be able to take photos — you will only be able to take handwritten notes.
In order to get a COPY of your file, you will need to set up a SEPARATE appointment at NCRC’s Main Office in Seoul.