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Adoption Records FAQ | Search FAQ | Family Medical History FAQ | Citizenship FAQ
Vietnamese Adoptees and Birth Parents FAQ | Korean Adoptees and Birth Parents FAQ
Chinese Adoptees and Birth Parents FAQs | Confidential Intermediary Services FAQs
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This area of the FAQs is divided into three sections;
I. Holt International Children's Services and Holt Children's Services of Korea
II. Korean Legal Documents
III. Search and Reunion
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I. Holt International Children's Services and Holt Children's Services of Korea
If I was adopted from Korea and my adoption papers say Holt, did you facilitate my adoption?
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Perhaps not. There are two Holts: Holt Children's Services of Korea (Holt-Korea) and Holt International Children's Services.
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Aren’t Holt Children’s Services of Korea and Holt International Children’s Services the same agency?
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No, we are two separate organizations. We have been separate organizations with different policies and procedures, sources of funding, and Boards of Directors since 1976.
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Why is it important to know if Holt International facilitated my adoption?
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We have copies of your documents only if we facilitated your adoption.
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Is Holt International the only agency that places children from Holt Children's Services of Korea?
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No, since 1976 Holt-Korea has worked with many different agencies in the US. Holt International is only one of the US agencies that have placed "Holt babies" in the US since 1976.
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What happened prior to 1976?
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If "Holt" adoptees arrived in the US prior to 1976, it is likely that Holt International and Holt-Korea facilitated the adoption.
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I am a Holt adoptee from Europe. Did Holt International facilitate my adoption?
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No, Holt Children's Services of Korea, not Holt International, facilitated your adoption.
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How do I find out if Holt International facilitated my adoption?
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Please contact the Post Adoption Services program.
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If Holt International did not facilitate my adoption, how will I find out which agencies did?
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Please contact the Post Adoption Services program. We will assist you in identifying your US and your Korean agencies.
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II. Korean Legal Documents
Is the information on my Korean legal documents different from the information on the English copies?
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No, the information is an exact translation. The Affirmation and Oath Certificate, typically signed by the translator and two administrators of Holt Children's Services of Korea, certify that the documents are "true and correct" and that the translations are "true and correct."
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Does my birth family or foster family live at the address in the Certificate of the Guardian, #382-14 Hapjung-dong, Mapo-Ku, Seoul, Korea?
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No, it is the address of the offices of Holt Children's Services of Korea. No adoptees have ever lived there.
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Will the person who is listed as my guardian remember me? May I contact him?
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No, your guardian was either the chairman of the board of directors or the president of Holt Children's Services of Korea. As the legal guardian, the chairman or president was empowered to make decisions on your behalf. It is not likely that he had any personal contact with you.
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What is the Family Register or Ho Juk?
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The Family Register is the document that establishes a person's lineage in Korea. Marriages, births, divorces, and deaths are all entered in the Ho Juk. Children are entered in their father's Ho Juk sometime before they start school.
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What is the Family Chief?
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The Family Chief is usually the oldest, living male family member. If he dies and his oldest son is still a minor, his mother will temporarily assume the role of family chief. Lineage is traced by linking the current family chief with all previous Family Chiefs.
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Why am I listed as Family Chief?
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The Family Register was specially created for you to serve as your legal documents for the purpose of adoption.
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What does the category "Family Origin" on the Family Register (Ho Juk) refer to?
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Family Origin refers to the town where the family originated many generations ago. When Koreans introduce themselves, they will often include their town of origin in order to distinguish themselves from others with the same common last name. They will say, for example, “the Lees of Chun Joo.”
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Will "Family Origin" on the Family Register lead me to my birth family members?
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No, the Family Register or Ho Juk was specially created for you for the purposes of adoption.
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III. Search and Reunion
How long will a search for my birth parent take?
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Although every case is unique, during 2002 searches took anywhere from 9 to 183 days, and the average number of days for a search was 71. During 2003 searches took from 1 to 210 days with the average number of days for a search being 74. In 2004 searches took from 7 to 321 days with the average number of days for a search being 90. 66% of searches during these three years were completed in three months or less.
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How many of the searches for birth parents are successful?
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Over the last three years (2002 – 2004) and in cases where there was enough information to search and Holt-Korea was willing to search, staff completed 28% of the searches successfully.
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Why isn't there enough information to search in some cases?
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There are many different reasons for lack of information about birth parents. In some cases birth parents may have left the child in a safe spot and waited for the child to be found but purposefully kept their identities hidden. In other cases birth parents may have relinquished directly to an orphanage and left identifying information, but staff there has not passed on the information about the relinquishment to Holt-Korea. In still other cases inadequate information was taken at the site where the birth parents relinquished.
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Why is Holt-Korea sometimes unwilling to search for birth parents?
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They worry that simply searching for a birth parent will expose the fact that that person has born a child out of wedlock. In Korea it is not culturally acceptable to have a child if you are unmarried, and some birth parents are never in a situation where they can reveal their past to their family members. Holt-Korea is afraid that they might accidentally expose these birth parents by searching and, as a result, disrupt significant relationships and cause severe pain.
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What are some of the difficulties in searching for birth parents in Korea, when birth parents’ names and last known address are available?
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It is very difficult to find birth parents if they used a temporary address when they relinquished their child or if they have moved several times. Economic development has also altered Korea, including street addresses. In addition, many more people in Korea than in the US share the same names, both first and last names. The USA with a population of 290 million has 3 million Smiths. Korea with a population under 50 million has 10 million Kims.
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Do Korean birth parents search for adoptees?
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Yes, a number of birth parents have done so, and we have been able to reunite them with their children.
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Does my birth family speak English? How will I communicate with them, if they are found?
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While many people in Korea speak English, members of your birth family may or may not do so. The two Holts will translate letters for you before you exchange identifying information. You will need to find someone in your local community to translate for you in your on-going relationship with your birth family.
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What happens after reunion?
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Reunion stories for international adoptees are beginning to emerge and are available through the web and your local bookstore. For further information please contact the Post Adoption Services program.
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How do I start a search?
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Contact the Post Adoption Services program. Your contact with us is confidential.
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Where can I find more information about search?
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Please see "Questions and Answers: An Update on Search and Reunion through Holt" by Laura Crawford Hofer, LCSW.
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