We have updated our Illustrated Catalog of Known KSS Documents with the “해외입양이민승락서” / “Consent for Overseas Adoption and Immigration” form.
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The KSS specific form, titled:
“해외입양이민승락서” / “Consent for Overseas Adoption and Immigration”
Thank you to a KSS Adoptee for allowing us to share a redacted version of their document. We have added ChatGPT English translation of the upper Korean text on the right.
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We have updated the Illustrated Catalog of Known KSS Documents - page with the KSS specific form, titled:
“해외입양이민승락서”
“Consent for Overseas Adoption and Immigration”
Please see our text translation of the Korean portion of this form below this section.
We have long known of this document, but have only recently compiled a publicly available list of known KSS documents (see the Illustrated Catalog of Known KSS Documents link above).
The “해외입양이민승락서” / “Consent for Overseas Adoption and Immigration” is a form which only those KSS Adoptees who were documented by KSS as having been directly relinquished to KSS in Seoul by a birth parent (or, as was often the case, a birth family member) would have in their original KSS file.
Please note that of course, KSS did not always properly document even those children who were directly relinquished to KSS in Seoul.
Please note that KSS may have even falsified this type of document. However, an Adoptee must assume that the information on this document is true until proven false — otherwise, the Adoptee has nothing to go on for a search.
Please note also that unfortunately, it was often the case that a birth relative — such as an aunt, uncle, grandmother or grandather — often relinquished a child (or children) to KSS without the consent of one or both birth parents. In such cases, these birth relatives may have been the ones whose information was used on the KSS specific form, called the “해외입양이민승락서” / “Consent for Overseas Adoption and Immigration”. It can often take years of sleuthing to figure all of this stuff out, even if that is possible to do. Koreans are world champion secret keepers — so even if you manage to find a birth relative, it can often be a years long challenge to determine the “truth” about a KSS Adoptee’s relinquishment circumstances. In many cases, the truth may never be known.
All former KSS files are now at NCRC’s Temporary Storage Facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, and will likely be transferred to the Seongam Branch of the National Archives sometime in 2026.
Please see:
ALL Adoptees Start Here! General Birth Family Search Steps Through NCRC — Overview
Thank you to a KSS Adoptee for allowing us to share a redacted version of their document. We have added ChatGPT English translation of the upper Korean text on the right.
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As we have learned over the years from looking at MANY KSS Adoptees’ documents, just because something has been pre-translated to English on a form doesn’t mean that the original KOREAN text says the exact same thing!
Note in the example below the the original KOREAN text contains a much tougher statement than has been pre-translated into English on the actual form itself!
Let’s compare the pre-translated English text on the BOTTOM of the “해외입양이민승락서”
“Consent for Overseas Adoption and Immigration” form below with our ChatGPT English translation of the KOREAN text at the TOP of the form below.
FIRST:
The pre-translated English text on the BOTTOM of the form above states:
“STATEMENT OF RELEASE FOR EMIGRATION AND OVERSEAS ADOPTION
Date:
I, (Mother, Father, Guardian)
certify that the child,
born on
has been cared (for) without the legal family registration, under my custody, and hereby irrevocably consent to his/her emigration and adoption by a foreign family through Korea Social Service, Inc., for the child's future welfare. I hereby unconditionally waive any rights which I have now as parent (guardian) to this child, and authorize the Korea Social Service to take any and all necessary actions to accomplish the said emigration and adoption.
Witness
This is a full, true and correct translation of the above paper
Signature
Translated by:
Address:
Korea Social Service, Inc.”
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SECOND:
Our ChatGPT English translation of the KOREAN text at the TOP of the form above.
The ChatGPT English translation of the Korean text at the top of this document is more harsh than the translated English text at the bottom. See the yellow highlighted text below. In particular, note the phrase below which we have highlighted in blue — “I pledge that this decision will never change in the future” — which does NOT appear in the pre-translated ENGLISH text on the form above:
“Consent for Overseas Adoption and Emigration
Child’s Name: ( )
Gender: (Male / Female)
Date of Birth: Year 19___, Month ___, Day ___
I am the (father / mother / guardian) of the above child, and I have raised this child without legal registration up to this point. However, for the future happiness and well-being of this child, I hereby consent to the child being adopted and emigrating to a foreign family through your arrangement.
I pledge that this decision will never change in the future.
I also relinquish all my rights and delegate them to the Korea Social Service. I entrust all procedures and documentation necessary for the child’s overseas adoption and emigration.
Address:
Witness:
Year 197___
Address:
Name of person relinquishing parental rights:
Resident Registration Number:
Month ___, Day ___
To: President of Korea Social Service”