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https://theconversation.com/south-korea-is-finally-reckoning-with-its-decades-long-foreign-adoption-scandal-255135>
"Kim Tak-un was four years old when he was adopted by a Swedish family in 1974.
Originally from South Korea, Tak-un had lived with his single father, a
labourer who moved frequently for work. One day in the summer of 1974, while
staying with his aunt, Tak-un wandered outside and disappeared.
Local police considered him abandoned and referred him to an adoption agency,
which arranged his adoption to Sweden within five months. When his father
realised his son was missing, he searched everywhere, only to discover – too
late – that Tak-un had already been sent overseas. Devastated, he demanded
Tak-un’s return. When the adoption agency failed to respond, he went public
with the story.
In March 2025, South Korea’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission released
initial findings from its investigation into the country’s 72-year-old
international adoption programme. The full report is expected in the next few
weeks as the investigation is now completed.
Based on more than 360 cases submitted by Korean adoptees from 11 countries,
the commission uncovered widespread human rights violations, including
falsified documents, lack of parental consent, and cases of child switching –
shaking up adoptees and their families.
Since the end of the Korean War (1950–1953), South Korea has sent over 200,000
children abroad, becoming the world’s largest country for adoption, even as it
grew into an advanced economy."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
