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.
Please be advised that ALL former Korean Adoption Agency files will likely move from NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do to the Seongam Branch of the National Archives sometime in 2026.
Please note that if you plan to visit NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do anytime soon, that at some currently unknown point in 2026, ALL former Korean Adoption Agency files will move AGAIN to the Seongam Branch of the National Archives.
Previously, on July 19th, 2025, all former Korean Adoption Agency files moved to NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do. It’s currently unclear when the SECOND major move to the Seongam Branch of the National Archives will happen.
Adoptees will probably get very little advance warning from NCRC of when exactly this SECOND move is going to happen!
If you plan to visit Korea specifically in order to visit NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, we hope that you factor this into your plans. We also hope that this is not the ONE chance you will have to go to Korea. A lot is changing fast in the landscape of birth family search, and we have no control over its timing, or how it may impact your travel plans.
We want to make Adoptees aware that your planned visits to NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do to view their former Korean Adoption Agency files MAY be interrupted / impacted by this upcoming move — the date of which no one yet knows.
IF you want to visit NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do in order to view your former Korean Adoption Agency file, we advise you to do so as soon as possible — but to book your travel plans in such a way that you can get reimbursed if you have to cancel or change your plans — due to the reasons outlined above.
We advise Korean Adoptees to submit a Petition for Adoption Information Disclosure to NCRC as soon as possible.
There is a lot of interconnected information to understand.
Please see:
ALL Adoptees Start Here! General Birth Family Search Steps Through NCRC — Overview
How To Book An Appointment At NCRC’s Two Locations in Korea.
Address and Contact Info For Important Locations Related To Birth Family Search Through NCRC.
My visit to NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do.
Please note that Adoptees are NOT allowed to take photos of their file at NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do. Adoptees unfortunately may only take handwritten notes! This makes obtaining a digital copy of your file from NCRC’s Main Office in Seoul — while you are still in Korea, if possible — all the more important! Yes, NCRC has TWO locations — and we are very sure this is going to trip some Adoptees up! Fortunately, you are smart enough to read this page BEFORE you go to Korea!
ALL former Korean Adoption Agency files are CURRENTLY stored at NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do — however, this will likely change at some point in 2026 when all of these files are slated to move to the Seongam Branch of the National Archives.
In order to obtain a PDF copy of all documents in your file, you must book a SECOND appointment at NCRC’s Main Office in Seoul! Please note that NCRC’s Main Office in Seoul does NOT have any of our ACTUAL former Korean Adoption Agency files! This is just the location where you can pick up a PDF scan of your file, and discuss your file with an NCRC worker.
(If you can’t book a second appointment at NCRC’s Main Office in Seoul for the time when you are in town, you can still get your files online — however, you should expect to wait about 5-6 months for NCRC to fulfill your request).
Please note that in order to visit EITHER of NCRC’s current locations — NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do OR NCRC’s Main Office in Seoul — you MUST FIRST submit a Petition for Adoption Information Disclosure request through the KAS website. Please see the links above for guidance.
Also, please note that if you DO NOT submit a Petition for Adoption Information Disclosure request through the KAS website, that NCRC will NOT scan your former Korean Adoption Agency file!!!
This is why we STRONGLY RECOMMEND that ANY Korean Adoptees submit a Petition for Adoption Information Disclosure request through the KAS website, even if they have no interest in birth family search. This is because the more that the former Korean Adoption Agency files get moved around to different storage locations, the greater the risk of loss and damage to these files!
Even if you have no interest in birth family search, documents in our former Korean Adoption Agency files may be required for things such as dual citizenship and the F-4 visa process. We’re not experts on the dual citizenship or the F-4 visa processes, so you will need to do some research on which documents you may need for these processes!
For this reason, we strongly recommend that you submit a Petition for Adoption Information Disclosure request through the KAS website as soon as possible!
Please note that NCRC has very limited staff and is currently handling thousands of requests from around the world. In addition, ALL former Korean Adoption Agency files are likely to undergo a second transfer to the Seongam Branch of the National Archives sometime in 2026. As a result, if you do not visit the NCRC in person, you should expect a processing time of approximately 5–6 months for your request.
You should also understand that even IF you visit NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do to VIEW your former Korean Adoption Agency file, if you do NOT schedule a SECOND visit to NCRC’s Main Office in Seoul to pick up a scanned PDF of your file, you should expect to wait for 5-6 months for NCRC to upload this file to the KAS website for your retrieval! You may not even be notified when NCRC has uploaded your file.
So we strongly recommend that IF you are able to accomplish visits to BOTH of NCRC’s locations in proper sequence while you are in Korea — then you should do so!