Truth and Reconciliation | 2025 Vol. 18 | Summer Newsletter.

Posted to Paperslip on September 1st, 2025.
Translation of Pages 40-41 via ChatGPT.
Please note we have NOT translated the entire E-book, as not all of it relates to Overseas Adoption.
Thank you to a Paperslip Contributor for the link.

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View Original E-Book Here

Download PDF here
*Please note, the original E-book cannot be downloaded as a PDF, we had to create our own.

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“Overseas Adoption: "Serious Human Rights Violation"

It Must Be Corrected Now

Geon-tae Park | Team Leader, Investigation Division 7

Overseas Adoption: "Serious Human Rights Violation"
Now Is the Time to Correct It

In August 2022, foreigners who looked Korean submitted a petition for truth investigation to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission via the phone number above. The petition included documents written in English and was submitted to the Korean government. These were people adopted to 11 countries—including the U.S., Europe, and Australia—between the 1960s and 1990s. The main content of their petition was that during the overseas adoption process, important information such as their birthdate, name, biological parents, or relatives' identities was changed or erased, making it impossible for them to know who they really were.

Large Turnout at Briefing Session in Denmark—Over 80 Attended

This is how an unexpected human rights violation case in the overseas adoption process began to be reported. The case was assigned to the investigator who handled cases involving child welfare facilities, and a special team was formed consisting of investigators who had previously worked on the Brothers Home and Shingang School cases. It was assumed that since many overseas adoptees came through child welfare facilities, the same team would be suited for the investigation. But upon closer inspection, this case turned out to be significantly different—an exceptional case unlike any before.

The first statement taken shortly after the investigation began was from an applicant from Norway. This person spoke neither Korean nor English. After many difficulties, the statement was given in Norwegian, interpreted into English by an accompanying person, and then translated into Korean. The process took about four hours. It was clear from that moment how challenging the investigation would be moving forward.

Investigative Activities Hampered by Language Barriers
The Time We Spent Trying to Make "Exceptions" the "Norm"
This Is How the Scope of Human Rights Expands

In June 2023, the investigation team carried out fieldwork in Denmark. The most important goal of the visit was to meet as many applicants in person as possible and to hold briefing sessions explaining the Commission’s work and investigation process. The purpose of the investigation was not only to collect necessary information. Since the investigators were meeting victims on behalf of the state, which had once been a perpetrator, listening attentively, showing empathy, and treating them with respect were part of the healing and reconciliation process.

However, meeting applicants in person was very difficult in this case. That’s why, even for a short time, we wanted to meet as many applicants face-to-face and show them that we were truly listening to their voices.

Thanks to the cooperation of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Denmark, we were able to host about 30 applicants in two sessions—morning and afternoon. During the Q&A, it became clear that these individuals did not trust Korean governmental institutions. To them, overseas adoption had likely felt like a profound rejection by Korean society. Later in life, they started to reflect on their identities, but the process of finding their roots through Korean adoption agencies or related government agencies was far from smooth. These were unique applicants in many ways.

Exceptional Applicants That State Agencies Had Never Handled Before

The investigation report was adopted on March 25, 2025, during the 102nd full committee meeting—two years after the trip to Denmark. Writing the report was far from easy. We kept asking ourselves:

"Is this really a human rights violation?"
"To what extent should the state be held responsible?"
"Can we say the government did something wrong?"
Since this was an unprecedented case with no similar precedents, these questions weren’t easy to answer. With no existing benchmarks, we had to read each investigator’s draft line by line and reach a collective agreement to finalize the report.

In truth, for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, almost every case begins as an exception. During the war, detaining ragged-looking individuals and forcing them to work in factories was considered a way of helping them become self-sufficient. Forcibly detaining children wandering city streets and sending them to remote islands to farm was seen as a form of protection. Claiming these actions were human rights violations and demanding a parliamentary hearing was considered exceptional—just five years ago.

When children were adopted overseas, people believed they would live happy lives—eating well and getting good educations in wealthy Western homes. At the time, it seemed absurd to claim that not knowing one’s biological parents or personal identity had ruined one’s life.

It was considered natural and unavoidable that someone would be killed if they had participated in partisan or profit-driven activities. So, saying that the state was at fault for killing civilians without due process during war and that it must apologize and compensate for it was, 20 years ago, an extraordinary claim.

2023: In Denmark, Explanation Given to Adoptees on Human Rights Violations in the Overseas Adoption Process

Today, countries like Sweden, Denmark, and Norway—Nordic nations—have recognized the problems in the overseas adoption process and have halted adoptions from Korea.

We now enjoy more rights than ever before, and future generations must enjoy even more. That’s why the scope of human rights must continuously expand. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and other human rights institutions have played a role in making exceptional cases seem normal, thereby expanding the scope of human rights. Though the second term of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has ended, we will continue to encounter different kinds of stories and times. We also applaud the fellow investigators who worked hard to turn exceptional circumstances into accepted truths.”

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