Post Adoption International Inquiries

Contacting Korea Social Service
If you are a Korean adoptee and would like to obtain information through Korea Social Service (KSS), they would prefer their clients to make initial contact through LSS of Minnesota.

Due to societal norms in Korea, KSS remains very concerned that a contact to a formerly single, now married woman may devastate the marriage, therefore they are less likely to conduct a search if this was the original circumstance. They are more likely to search if there had been an intact family at the time of the birth.

It is possible to state your wishes to KSS, and to inquire whether a search would be possible. Let them know your specific desires. It is also wise to ask them to check the file for any additional information that your adoptive parents may not have received at the time of the adoption. Occasionally, there may be some additional information in the file at KSS. If your original paper work says "abandoned" or "parents unknown," it is still worthwhile to check at KSS to see if any other information is in the KSS file.

If you are seeking contact with birth family, you may write a letter to your birth family, including pictures, and your contact information. If KSS cannot search for your birth family, they can be instructed to add the letter, pictures and contact information to your file in case any birth family member comes forward in the future.

You may also give KSS your contact information for their files, if you would like to. If you are not releasing your contact information directly to your birth family, then please specify this to KSS, so that they will know that the contact information you are giving them is only for their files.

Please enclose a cover letter to KSS with any letter that you are sending to your birth family. The cover letter, written to Mrs. Choon Hee Kim, Social Worker, should include your name, adoptive parents names, your date of birth and placement date (the date you arrived in U.S.), your KSS case number, if you have it (this is a number preceded by a "K" or a "KL"), and your request, as described above.

You may want to include a donation to KSS. A suggested amount is $25 or more. KSS accepts American checks.

Please send all material to LSS and we will forward it to Korea Social Service. We charge a $35 fee for this service, and you may make the check out to Lutheran Social Service Post Adoption. Please send it to:

Post Adoption
Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota
2414 Park Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55404

It is also important to know that KSS receives many requests and it may be quite some time before you, or LSS, hears back from them. The KSS address is:

Korea Social Service
533-3 Ssangmoon Dong, Dobong-Ku
Dobong P.O. Box 88
Seoul, Korea 132-031
Telephone: 011-82-2-908-9191 Fax: 011-82-2-908-3344

Please call us at (612) 879-5248 if you have any questions about this process. We realize that it is a big step and would like to assist you in any way that we can.

Contacting Holt Korea
Please contact our office for more information at 612-879-5248

Inquiries About Contacting Other Countries
Please contact our office for more information at 612-879-5248