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Adoption From Korea

Korea Fast Facts:

  • 2007 adoptions: 939 children
  • Age/Gender: 37% Female, 88% under 1 year of age, 11% 1 to 4 years of age in 2006
  • Estimated Total Cost: $20,000 to $30,000
  • Profile: 9 months to 4 years. Nearly 90% are under 1 year old (2006). Special-needs and older children are available.
  • Parent Ages: Both parents must be 25 to 44 years old at placement; sometimes waived for special-needs children and parents of Korean ancestry. Some agencies may have other restrictions.
  • Family Status: Must be married at least 3 years; 1 divorce per spouse. No singles. Fewer than 4 children already at home. Some agencies may have other restrictions.
  • Travel: Parents may travel or have children escorted to the United States.
  • Timeline: From completed dossier to referral, about 10 to 20 months. Wait time for a boy may be shorter.

Korea Adoption Directory

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

South Korea has the world’s oldest international adoption program. More than 200,000 children have been adopted from that country since the mid-1950s, when many children placed for adoption were biracial children fathered by U.S. military personnel during and after the Korean War. Most children available for adoption today are placed by unmarried mothers who are concerned about the stigma against children who are born out of wedlock.

Korea now places the fifth-largest number of children with U.S. families. Typically, infants are relinquished at birth and live with a foster family until they’re adopted. New regulations in Korea require a five-month attempt to place an infant within the country, so children may be slightly older by the time they join their families. Background information on the birth family is usually available. Parents have the option of traveling to Korea for the adoption, or having the child escorted to the United States.

A birthmother in Korea wrote, “You needed to be loved by family members, and you could have that love only if you were in a family. I couldn’t give that love by myself. Therefore, adoption was my gift to you” (from the book I Wish for You a Beautiful Life).

Personal Stories About 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 Korea adopters

Best websites for Korea adopters