International adoption of South Korean children

Adoptions from South Korea Timeline

1950 —

–

1960 —

–

1970 —

–

1980 —

–

1990 —

–

2000 —

–

2010 —

–

2020 —

←

1988 Summer Olympics in South Korea^[2]

←

1953 The first 4 South Korean children are adopted to the US ^[2]

←

2011 New citizenship law enabling adoptees to restore citizenship ^[3]

←

1975 President Park announces end by 1985 ^[4]

←

1961 First Special Adoption Law is passed

←

1970 North Korea starts to criticize South Korea's adoption industry

←

1981 International adoption fully liberalised again

←

1997 IMF Crisis

Korean War

Number of adoptions out of
South Korea color-coded by amount
where the darker color means more^[1]

Source: Ministry of Health and Welfare (1968, 2005, 2023)

The international adoption of South Korean children started around 1953 as a measure to take care of the large number of mixed children that became orphaned during and after the Korean War. It quickly evolved to include orphaned Korean children. Religious organizations in the United States, Australia, and many Western European nations slowly developed the apparatus that sustained international adoption as a socially integrated system.

From the 1970s through the 2000s, thousands of children were adopted overseas every year. Over time, the South Korean government has sought to decrease international adoptions in favor of domestic adoptions. In 2023, seventy years after its start, South Korea still sent 79 children overseas, making it the longest-running international adoption program in the world.^[5]

^ Cite error: The named reference EleanaKim was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference Hübinette was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference GoalLaw was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Moon, Katharine H. S. (June 29, 2015). "The past and future of international adoption". Brookings Institution. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
^ Ministry of Health and Welfare. "한 아이의 온 세상을 만드는 입양, 국가가 책임지고 준비해 나가겠습니다". 대한민국 정책브리핑. Retrieved 2021-05-14.

[EleanaKim-1] Cite error: The named reference EleanaKim was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Hübinette-2] Cite error: The named reference Hübinette was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[GoalLaw-3] Cite error: The named reference GoalLaw was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Moon-4] Moon, Katharine H. S. (June 29, 2015). "The past and future of international adoption". Brookings Institution. Retrieved May 22, 2024.

[5] Ministry of Health and Welfare. "한 아이의 온 세상을 만드는 입양, 국가가 책임지고 준비해 나가겠습니다". 대한민국 정책브리핑. Retrieved 2021-05-14.

[2]

[3]

[4]

[1]

[5]