In this article, reporters Mazoe Ford, Matt Davis & Victoria Allen explore adoptees from South Korea who now, as adults, are searching for answers about their heritage.

About 200,000 children were adopted to overseas countries from South Korea after the Korean War (1950-1953) ended. There were many children orphaned in the war, but also unwed mothers were shamed into giving up their children. There is also some evidence some children were stolen.

The turning point came during the 1988 Seoul Olympics and adoption numbers have fallen since. In 2022, for example, there were only 142 transnational adoptions from Korea.