Why DNA testing is increasingly one of the few hopes for Korean Adoptees to find any blood relatives.
Unfortunately, we have known since we first learned in January 2024 of the (then) impending transfer of ALL former Korean Adoption Agency files to the Korean public institution NCRC (National Center for the Rights of the Child) that Korean Adoptees around the world were about to be in BIG trouble regarding birth family search and their right to origin. This is because we were far too aware of NCRC’s perennial budget issues and their willful incompetence. We spent 15 months warning as many Korean Adoptees as we could — especially KSS Adoptees, since we had discovered a path in 2021 for them to obtain information from KSS — but of course, we are very sorry for all the Korean Adoptees who either did not hear our message, were not ready to act on it, or who were not able to get information from their Korean Adoption Agencies prior to the file transfer to NCRC.
We have known for years about NCRC’s inherent problems — NCRC’s familiar and perennial refrain of, “Our problems are due to lack of budget,” is the Korean Government’s way of saying: “We have deliberately underfunded NCRC (and its predecessors) for decades so that it is nearly impossible for Adoptees to find their birth families.“
Now that ALL former Korean Adoption Agency files are in the possession of NCRC — which is notoriously underfunded and understaffed — this means that effectively the Korean Government almost completely controls the keys to Korean Adoptees’ birth family searches. For now, these files are stored at NCRC’s temporary storage facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do. However, a small group of activists pushed NCRC to decide to transfer the files to the Seongam Branch of the National Archives. While superficially this might seem like a positive development, the reality is that due to this pending transfer — which may happen in the early half of 2026 — NCRC and the National Archives will be treating ALL former Korean Adoption Agency files in their possession with chemical pesticides in order to eradicate bugs — a condition for entry into the National Archives, and a process which is almost certain to destroy some sensitive paper files.
Since the Korean Government predictably declined to provide any further budget for NCRC to handle this SECOND massive transfer of all former Korean Adoption Agency files, this means that an already small handful of NCRC workers are handling not only the massive influx of birth family search requests from around the world, but also the pending file transfer to the Seongam Branch of the National Archives. This means that the bottlenecking of request fulfillment by NCRC is even more insane than ever. While Korean Adoptees from around the world must now submit birth family requests through NCRC (if they have the interest and patience to do so), the KAS (Korea Adoption Services — the predecessor to NCRC) website through which all requests must go runs on a platform from 2012 or 2016. Even creating a log in can be a fraught process, much less having a request fulfilled properly and in a timely way by NCRC.
For anyone who believes that Korean Adoptee activism efforts are ever going to completely reform NCRC, we have a used car to sell to you. The way that NCRC works is this: activists push for change, and NCRC, with the blessing of the Korean Government, reacts by making things WORSE.
All of this is NOT to say that Adoptees should NOT try to conduct a birth family search through NCRC. However, Adoptees should be made aware that this process is frustrating and difficult by design.
We should note that for those Korean Adoptees who already have information about birth parents in their possession — such as full names and birthdates, and for the lucky few, 13 digit Korean ID numbers — such Adoptees should consider working with the organization GOAL in Korea, which requires a nominal yearly membership fee. GOAL may also be able to assist in cases where the NCRC process stalls out for various reasons.
While Korean Adoptees from around the world are currently pinning their fragile hopes on TRC 3 (the Third Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Republic of Korea), TRC 3 will likely only be able to investigate a tiny fraction of the hundreds or even thousands of cases which will be submitted to them by Korean Adoptees. There will be no TRC 4 — so after TRC 3 wraps up after a few years, this leaves the rest of Korean Adoptees around the world with precious few other options for investigation into their cases.
This leads us to our point: in order to find ANY blood relatives in this lifetime, one of Korean Adoptees’ few options is to take ALL possible DNA tests. DNA tests come with inherent privacy risks, which we won’t mute, unlike other DNA proponents. These are weird times in the world, and no one’s privacy can ever be guaranteed. That being said, the only way to guarantee that you can find any blood relatives is through DNA testing.
Korean Adoptees will have to manage their expectations with respect to DNA testing. Most Koreans in Korea do not take DNA tests. However, Korean Adoptees have for years been able to connect with blood relatives through DNA tests such as 23 and Me, Ancestry, My Heritage, and FTDNA. There is additionally the KNPA (Korean Police DNA test) which Korean Adoptees can take at a Korean police station, or through a nearby Korean Consulate / Embassy in their home country. We recommend taking ALL possible DNA tests, if you are comfortable with that. Please see:
DNA Testing
We feel deeply sorry for Korean Adoptees, who are facing this massive uphill battle in birth family search. We all deserve better, but we believe that in this lifetime, it will mainly be down to DNA testing in terms of finding ANY blood relatives.