South Korea Adoption

Country-specific adoption information for parents considering adopting from South Korea.

The Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs handles adoptions in South Korea and is responsible for approving U.S.-based adoption agencies. Typically, infants are relinquished at birth by unwed mothers and live with a foster family until they're adopted. Children generally receive good medical care, and background information on the birth family is usually available.

Adoptions from South Korea to the U.S. are continuing to drop since the South Korean government announced its intent to phase out intercountry adoption by annually reducing quotas for authorized U.S. adoption agencies. Before children can be placed for international adoption, there is a five-month waiting period, during which the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs attempts to place the child domestically.

For more information, visit www.adoption.state.gov. View photos and get parent-to-parent advice in our online community, www.adoptivefamiliescircle.com.

South Korea Adoption and Facts:

• 2011 adoptions: 736 children
• Hague Accredited: No
• Estimated Total Cost: $20,000 to $40,000
• Profile of Children: 53% were younger than one year (2010).
• Parent Ages: Both parents must be 25 to 44 years old at placement, and their age difference cannot exceed 15 years; age requirement may be waived for parents of Korean ancestry and special-needs children.
• Family Status: Must be married at least 3 years, with an income exceeding the U.S. national average. Singles may not adopt. Fewer than four children already living at home.
• Travel: Parents may travel to South Korea or have children escorted to the U.S. once they gain legal custody.
• Timeline: From completed dossier to U.S. arrival, about one year to four years. Wait time for a special-needs child is significantly shorter.

South Korea Adoption Directory

Find an adoption agency placing children from South Korea in your state

Personal Stories About South Korean Adoption

• Music in His Genes
  "My son craves the comfort of music the way other kids his age rely on t heir blankets."
• Why Tae Kwan Do?
  One woman's steps into her future daughter's culture also teaches her about herself.

Helpful Books for South Korea Adopters

• When You Were Born in Korea
  by Brian E. Boyd
• I Wish for You a Beautiful Life: Letters from the Korean Birth Mothers of Ae Ran Won to Their Children
  edited by Sara Dorow

Best Web Resources for South Korea Adopters

• U.S. State Department Country Information
• U.S. Embassy in South Korea
• Korean American Adoptee Adoptive Family Network (KAAN)
• Adopting from Korea and Afterwards
• Adopt Korea E-mail listserv
• Adopting from Korea E-mail listserv
• Korean Focus Support Group

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