Understanding NCRC’s 비식별표 (Table of Redactions).
Understanding NCRC’s 비식별표 (Table of Redactions).
Thank you to a Paperslip Contributor for contacting NCRC for clarification on this.
When NCRC fulfills an Adoptee’s Petition for Adoption Information Disclosure request and provides the Adoptee with a copy of their former Korean Adoption Agency file in PDF format, NCRC also provides a useful 비식별표 (Table of Redactions).
This is actually a nice thing that NCRC does, as it significantly reduces Adoptees’ doubt about which documents specifically may or may not be REDACTED or WITHHELD by NCRC from the copy of their former Korean Adoption Agency file with which NCRC is providing them in PDF format. While NCRC must still redact / withhold birth parent information (and information concerning adoptive parents, unless an Adoptee has submitted a adoptive parent consent form along with their Petition for Adoption Information Disclosure request) at least NCRC acknowledges in this 비식별표 (Table of Redactions) exactly WHICH PAGES have been redacted, and what TYPES OF DOCUMENTS these are.
While it still sucks that Adoptees can’t get birth parent information directly from NCRC due to strict birth parent privacy law, at least Adoptees are not left wondering if NCRC is withholding anything — NCRC explicitly lists EXACTLY WHICH documents it has REDACTED or WITHHELD in each Adoptee’s case, and lists the exact PAGE NUMBERS of these redacted or withheld documents. This is a big improvement over the guessing game which Korean Adoption Agencies cruelly played with Adoptees for decades.
NCRC adds ITS OWN PAGE NUMBERS to the copy of your former Korean Adoption Agency file, which NCRC provides to you in PDF format. The placement of these numbers on your documents may vary, but EVERY page in the PDF file which NCRC provides for you will have an NCRC page number.
IF NCRC REDACTS or WITHHOLDS certain numbered pages from the copy of your former Korean Adoption Agency file, NCRC notes these pages in the right most column of the 비식별표 (Table of Redactions) it provides to Adoptees once their Petition for Adoption Information Disclosure request is fulfilled by NCRC.
If you LOOK THROUGH your PDF file and look closely at NCRC’s PAGE NUMBERS, you will note that some pages may be MISSING. These are the REDACTED or WITHHELD pages which NCRC notes in the right most column of the 비식별표 (Table of Redactions). (Please note that some of your adoption documents may have their own page numbers, but these are separate from NCRC’s page numbers).
It’s IMPORTANT to understand that it is frequently these REDACTED or WITHHELD pages which contain birth parent information. Even though NCRC cannot disclose this information to Adoptees due to privacy law, NCRC can perform a birth family search based on this information ONCE PER YEAR IF this information exists in your former Korean Adoption Agency file, which is now in NCRC’s possession.
NCRC will also REDACT or WITHHOLD information related to your adoptive parents, unless you submitted an Adoptive Parent Consent form along with your Petition for Adoption Information Disclosure request. Click the link above and search for the term “consent” to find instructions about this. Please note that information about your adoptive parents is not usually needed for NCRC to perform a birth family search, so this information is less important to obtain than other information in your file.
Since so many Adoptees were ORPHANIZED — and many grew up falsely believing there was NO BIRTH PARENT INFORMATION in their former Korean Adoption Agency file, it is important to understand how to INTERPRET the 비식별표 (Table of Redactions) to SEE IF NCRC HAS REDACTED OR WITHHELD existing BIRTH PARENT INFORMATION in your particular case. IF there is birth parent information in your file, you can request a birth family search through NCRC ONCE PER YEAR by filing a new Petition for Adoption Information Disclosure.
Please note that you should NOT request your DOCUMENTS more than once! However, you can request a new BIRTH FAMILY SEARCH once per year through NCRC, assuming they have any birth parent information in your file to go on.
Below is an annotated 비식별표 (Table of Redactions) for a KSS Adoptee.
Please note that there was no birth parent information in this Adoptee’s former Korean Adoption Agency (KSS) file. Therefore, the YELLOW highlighted information in the graphic below which was REDACTED / WITHHELD by NCRC was not about documents containing birth parent information, but other types of documents. Everyone’s case, and everyone’s 비식별표 (Table of Redactions) will VARY — so please READ YOURS CAREFULLY!!!
Please note that this NCRC 비식별표 (Table of Redactions) document is likely to have varying “Types of Records” listed in the column second from left. Please do NOT assume that your document will contain the exact same wording as the example below. Different Korean Adoption Agencies used different types of forms. Therefore, depending on your Korean Adoption Agency, the types of documents listed on your NCRC 비식별표 (Table of Redactions) form may vary. However, the general structure of the NCRC 비식별표 (Table of Redactions) will likely be the same as below for Adoptees from ALL Korean Adoption Agencies.
*Please note that the color coding in the graphic below is ours — your NCRC 비식별표 (Table of Redactions) will NOT be color coded.
Please note that IF there is NO PAGE NUMBER in the far right column, AND it says “Not Disclosed”, then NCRC does NOT have this document type in your specific file.
If there is NO PAGE NUMBER, AND it says “Disclosed”, then NCRC provided you with a copy of this document in your PDF.
IF there ARE PAGE NUMBER/S in the far right column, and the column to the left says “Disclosed”, then NCRC DOES have this document in your case, but has WITHHELD or REDACTED it in your case, in accordance with S. Korean privacy law. It is usually (but not always) birth parent information which has been redacted.
+
Understanding NCRC’s 비식별표 (Table of Redactions).
When NCRC fulfills an Adoptee’s Petition for Adoption Information Disclosure request and provides the Adoptee with a copy of their former Korean Adoption Agency file in PDF format, NCRC also provides a useful 비식별표 (Table of Redactions).
This is actually a nice thing that NCRC does, as it significantly reduces Adoptees’ doubt about what may or may not be missing from the copy of their former Korean Adoption Agency file which with NCRC is providing them in PDF format. While NCRC must still redact / withhold birth parent information (and information concerning adoptive parents, unless an Adoptee has submitted a adoptive parent consent form along with their Petition for Adoption Information Disclosure request) at least NCRC acknowledges in this 비식별표 (Table of Redactions) exactly WHICH PAGES have been redacted, and what TYPES OF DOCUMENTS these are.
Please note that IF there is NO PAGE NUMBER in the far right column, AND it says “Not Disclosed”, then NCRC does NOT have this document type in your specific file.
If there is NO PAGE NUMBER, AND it says “Disclosed”, then NCRC provided you with a copy of this document in your PDF.
IF there ARE PAGE NUMBER/S in the far right column, and the column to the left says “Disclosed”, then NCRC DOES have this document in your case, but has WITHHELD or REDACTED it in your case, in accordance with S. Korean privacy law. It is usually (but not always) birth parent information which has been redacted.
So please be sure to read this document CAREFULLY! NCRC may have birth parent information in your file which you may not have been previously aware of.
NCRC will by law WITHHOLD or REDACT any birth parent information in your file.
However, you want to know IF this information EXISTS in your NCRC file, because NCRC can conduct a birth family search ONCE PER YEAR upon your request through the Petition for Adoption Information Disclosure procedure. You should NOT request your DOCUMENTS more than once, but you CAN request a new birth family search ONCE PER YEAR, assuming there is birth parent information in your file!
Due to widespread Orphanization — the falsification of a child’s origins and background for the overseas adoption process — many Korean Adoptees may have grown up believing there was NO birth parent information in their adoption file. However, Adoptees are NOW able to obtain much more information from NCRC than they were previously able to obtain from their former Korean Adoption Agencies.
The bottom line is: please carefully read the documents you receive from NCRC!