Taking Care Of Your Mental Health During TRC 3.

Posted to Paperslip on February 2nd, 2026.
TRC 3 = Third Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Republic of Korea.

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Please see the dropdown menu on our homepage titled:
DROPDOWN: TRC 3—Third Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Republic of Korea (2026-?)

Related:
You Can Submit Your Case To TRC 3 Independently Of Any Other “Korean Rights” Group

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We want to caution Korean Adoptees who are considering submitting their cases for the TRC 3 investigation into Overseas Adoption, which is slated to begin on February 26th, 2026, to take special care of their mental health throughout this multi-year process. The TRC process attracts many Adoptees with often complex and sometimes severe cases of fraud and abuse, which can unexpectedly bring about strong emotions and feelings surrounding the past.

There are several factors that Adoptees should be aware of before engaging with TRC 3. Having a strong emotional support system will be critically important for anyone submitting a case. Currently, TRC 3 provides no direct mental health guidance, and the related “Korean Rights” groups — who aim to be the sole mouthpiece in this movement — do not provide mental health support either. We want to warn you that the Danish group which organized TRC 2 — DKRG (Danish Korean Rights Group) — can also do significant harm, by acting as brutal gatekeepers for information regarding the submission process to TRC 2 and TRC 3. Fortunately, TRC 3 allows Korean Adoptees to submit their cases independently of any “Representative” groups. Actually, TRC 2 allowed you to do that, too — but DKRG never told anyone that Adoptees could submit their cases independently.

For these reasons and more, it is essential that you take extra care of yourself and prioritize your emotional well-being throughout the process.

While not widely known, there was a Norwegian TRC 2 participant who commit suicide in October 2024. We do not know the particular circumstances which led to her death, but we want to caution prospective TRC 3 participants that participation in the TRC 3 process can bring about strong feelings of anxiousness and depression, and for some can induce feelings of suicidality — given that the focus of TRC 3’s investigation into Overseas Adoption is chiefly about adoption fraud and abuse. The TRC 2 process attracted many of us with deeply falsified cases — and from personal experience, we can tell you that the TRC process can stir up some deep feelings of trauma.

We are very concerned that DKRG and related *KRG groups are encouraging so many Adoptees to submit their sensitive, private adoption documents to them — when DKRG’s behavior toward Adoptees during TRC 2 is so deeply concerning. We want to emphasize that Korean Adoptees can submit their own cases to TRC 3, independently of any “Korean Rights” organization. As soon as information becomes available about the TRC 3 submission process, we will share it freely.

We cannot more strongly recommend that IF you choose to engage with the TRC 3 process, that you work with a counselor or therapist throughout the process. We have personally witnessed the sad aftereffects of the TRC 2 process on two Korean Adoptees who attempted suicide.

We also think it’s important to provide a realistic set of expectations for how many Korean Adoptee cases TRC 3 may actually be able to investigate during its limited tenure of a few years time. The TRC 2 investigation into Overseas Adoption lasted from 2022-2025 (having just concluded at the end of 2025), and TRC 3 is slated to begin on February 26th, 2026. However, of the 367 Korean Adoptees who submitted their cases to TRC 2, just 56 Adoptees received judgments in their cases. This left 311 cases un-investigated. It is expected that these 311 cases of Korean Adoptees will have to be investigated FIRST, BEFORE any additional cases submitted during TRC 3 will be addressed. It is a very real possibility that not even all 311 cases left over from TRC 2 will be investigated — much less any additional cases submitted during the 2 year submission process of TRC 3. Unfortunately, we can’t really know what will happen in advance.

DKRG (Danish Korean Rights Group) was unfortunately the SOLE Representative for Adoptees during TRC 2. That power REALLY went to their heads, and they treat their Facebook groups like cults — where anyone who speaks out or shares information outside of the group is punished by being blocked and ghosted by DKRG. They aim to strictly control information, and punish those who “leak” it — something which we think is a reprehensible practice, in the context of a movement which should be open to all Korean Adoptees with interest.

As TRC 3 approaches, DKRG and related *KRG groups worldwide are applying significant pressure on Adoptees to submit their cases through them as quickly as possible. However, it’s important to know that TRC 3, unlike TRC 2, does NOT require the use of DKRG as a Representative. Adoptees can submit their cases INDEPENDENTLY — without involving DKRG or any *KRG group — either via the TRC 3 website (in your own Western language, we believe) or through a Korean Consulate in your country of adoption or residence.

Please note that TRC 3’s submission guidelines will take time for TRC 3 to finalize, so it may be a few months after February 26th, 2026 before the process is fully ready for Adoptees to submit their cases. Please be patient, and in the meantime, prepare your documents and timelines — but also know that there will be a 2 YEAR submission period for TRC 3. Currently, DKRG is pressuring Adoptees to submit their documents to them and to sign paperwork — please be advised that Peter Møller , who leads DKRG and ultimately all of the *KRG groups, is NOT a lawyer, despite claiming to be one in the press since 2022.

For anyone without prior experience with DKRG, take this advice from this US Adoptee who has spent three exhausting years dealing with them: if you disagree with them, even in the slightest, you risk being blocked and ghosted from their Facebook groups — despite having submitted your private, sensitive adoption documents to them, which you will NOT get back. DKRG thrives on “holding the keys to the kingdom.” DKRG is also known for spreading false rumors amongst Korean Adoptees against those they oppose for any minor reason (or for no reason at all). The upside of TRC 3, however, is that information about the submission process — which will NOT start immediately on February 26th, 2026, when TRC 3 officially begins — should be more transparently available directly from TRC 3 itself.

You should also be aware that DKRG and the related *KRG groups are going to make another strong push to be in international media. If you are a US Adoptee, please consider whether it is wise to publicize your deeply falsified case in the current environment in US and international press.

Korean Adoptees can submit their own cases INDEPENDENTLY of DKRG or or any of the *KRG groups. The guidelines for submission are not yet totally decided, but Adoptees should be able to submit their cases either through the TRC 3 website in their own language, or through a Korean Consulate in their Western country of adoption (or residence).

We will post more information as it becomes available.

In the meantime, please take care of yourselves. It’s a tough time overall in the world, and finding some mental peace and comfort is important for all of us in these unpredictable times.

It is not our place to tell Adoptees what to do regarding TRC 3; however, for those who decide to brave the process, we hope that Adoptees will manage their expectations — since realistically, it may very well be that no new cases will be investigated — and that they will find avenues of support for the long years ahead.