Adoption Voices

History

Family Requirements
 
About the Children

Korea Adoption Laws

Adoption Process

Adoption Costs

Families with Korean Heritage

Family Testimonial

Post-Adoption Services 

Humanitarian Aid in Korea

Tribute Video to Dr. Kim, Duk Whang's Life

View "Korean Birthmothers Workshop"

Hague FAQ for New Adoptive Families

Contact Korea Case Manager

The republic of South Korea is located on a peninsula extending from the continent of Asia into the Sea of Japan.  Korea has a colorful history spanning 5,000 years and has been described as the "land of the morning calm."

Dillon International also has a long history with South Korea.  The agency began working with Eastern Social Welfare Society (formerly The David Livingston Foundation) in 1972 to place Korean children with U.S. families.

Working together, Dillon International and Eastern Social Welfare Society (ESWS) established a system of foster care for children waiting to be adopted.  This system has become a model for developing foster care systems in other countries.

Children are received at the ESWS's Babies Home and then placed in foster care while they await adoption. ESWS provides counseling services for birth parents considering relinquishing their child for adoption.  Most birth parents are young, single, and not prepared to provide a nurturing environment for their children because of economic disadvantages and the social stigma of single parenthood.

Eastern Social Welfare Society operates eight maternity homes referred to as Sharon's Homes.  Unwed pregnant women in their late teens and early twenties who need physical, financial, and emotional support live at the homes during their pregnancy.  While some of the mothers have already decided to parent or place their child for adoption, others are still considering what choice is in the best interest of their child.

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• Families residing in AR, KS, MO, OK, or TX

• Korean heritage families residing in AR, KS, MO, OK, TX, or CA plus families of Korean heritage living in other states will also be considered on a case-by-case basis

• Families throughout the U.S. who are interested in adopting a child from Korea's Waiting Child Program
   

• Additional requirements also include:

  • Heterosexual married couples

  • Both spouses must be between 25 - 42 years of age at the time of application

  • No more than 4 children under the age of 18 already living in the home

  • No more than 10 years age difference between husband and wife

  • Couples must be married for at least 3 years. 

  • Only one previous divorce per applicant is accepted

  • Second marriages must be a minimum of 3 years in length

  • Families must be open to accepting a child of either gender

  • Families must be open to accepting a child with at least minor/correctable special needs

  • Couples may not be more than 30% overweight.  Applicants must not exceed the weight limit for their height at the time of application. (See chart below for Korea's guidelines.)

  • Applicants with a history of any kind of depression or mental illness must be stable for five (5) years with or without medication.  (Applicant(s) will need to provide a letter of confirmation from their appropriate physician and/or counselor.)

• Shorter wait time for a child referral for families with Korean heritage

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• Children live in foster homes while waiting to be adopted

• Children will be between 17 - 24 months old at the time of arrival in the U.S.

• Boys and girls are available for adoption

• All children are under excellent medical care while waiting for adoption. Extensive medical information will be provided to a potential family.  Available children could have a wide range of needs, from minor to severe including: prematurity, low birth weight, birth mother drinking or smoking, and/or brief illness after birth.

• One of the many ways that the late Dr. Kim, Duk Whang (founder and former Chairman of the Board of Eastern Social Welfare Society/ESWS) demonstrated his fatherly devotion and dedication to each child in Eastern's care was to pray a special blessing over each child prior to his/her departure to their new adoptive family.  This is a tradition that his daughter, Dr. Kim, Jin Sook, now carries on in her role as President of ESWS.  
  View a video of Dr. Kim Blessing a Child

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• After a family's Adoption Application-Part II has been approved, families will begin their home study

• Upon approval of the family's home study, they will be placed on a  waiting list for a referral of a child

• The waiting time for a referral after home study approval is 4 - 6 months  

• Families wait another 11 - 16+ months after accepting an assignment of a child for notification that they may travel to receive their child or have their child escorted to the U.S.

• Families may choose to have their child escorted to the nearest U.S. port of entry or to their home airport  (This may change pending the outcome of Korea's July 2012 Adoption Law.)

• Families who choose to travel to receive their child will make their own travel arrangements after they receive notification that their child is ready for travel

• Families may stay in ESWS' guest house while in Seoul for $60-90/night or in hotel accommodations close to the ESWS office if the guest house is unavailable

• Traveling families will not have a designated guide while in Korea, but ESWS staff may be available to assist families during their stay

• All paperwork for the adoption process is completed prior to travel, so families do not have any paperwork responsibilities for their child's adoption while they are in Korea

• Traveling families will have the opportunity to meet their child's foster family

• Families may have several opportunities to spend time with their child, but will not receive their child until they are ready to depart for the U.S.

• Sharing small gifts of appreciation with the child's foster family is encouraged

• Families finalize the child's adoption in the U.S. after completing 3 post-placement visits with the family's caseworker, which usually takes 6 months

• Upon adoption finalization, the child becomes an automatic U.S. citizen

• Families are encouraged to apply for a Certificate of U.S. Citizenship from USCIS to verify their child's citizenship as soon as their adoption finalization is complete

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The government office responsible for adoptions in South Korea is the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. The laws and regulations regarding foreigners adopting children from South Korea may be found on the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare's website or by visiting the U.S. State Department's website.

The Korean government also requires prospective adoptive families to work with one of three Korean agencies that have been approved by the Korean government.  Dillon International has a long-standing relationship with the following approved Korean agency:

EASTERN SOCIAL WELFARE SOCIETY, INC.
493, Changchun-Dong, Sudaemun-Ku, Seoul
Tel: 82-2-332-3941/5
Fax: 82-2-333-1588
http://www.eastern.or.kr

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Specific fees are only due after a particular service has been rendered in the adoption process and are considered non-refundable after payment has been received.  All fees are subject to change and services are charged at the rate that is current at the time of billing.

ESTIMATED KOREA PROGRAM ADOPTION COST:  $27,020 - $28,420
(Estimate includes agency, international, and travel / escort fees ONLY.)

Other fees and expenses families will incur during the adoption process include:

• home study and post-placement services,

• USCIS fees,

• ICPC fees,

• refundable deposit*, and

• out-of-pocket expenses related to the family's state of residence and the country adopting from.  

Dillon International has relationships with licensed home study providers across the U.S. and can assist families living outside our service area in locating a licensed agency near them for these services.  For families living in Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, southern California (counties of Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, and Imperial) and areas around San Francisco, Dillon International will provide their home study and post-placement services.  Dillon International's home study & post-placement fees for non-Hague countries like Korea is $2,900 and $3,950 in California.

For a complete breakdown of expected fees and services for Dillon's Korea program, please see the Explanation of Fees and Services in Dillon's adoption application packet which can be downloaded from our website.

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*Each family adopting with Dillon International will also be required to pay a $500 Refundable Deposit which will be returned in a lump sum after the family provides Dillon with the following:
1) proof of a will
2) proof of their child's U.S. final adoption decree/ registration
3) copies of their child's in-country adoption documents (exception for Korea)
4) proof of their child's Social Security Number
5) proof of their child's U.S. Certificate of Citizenship
6) submission of all post-placement reports required by their child's birth country
Families must provide this documentation within three (3) years after their child arrives home in order to receive their refund.

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To qualify to adopt as a family with Korean Heritage at least one spouse must be of Korean heritage (includes Korean adoptees) and at least one spouse must be a citizen of the United States.  Korean heritage is defined as having been born in Korea to Korean parents or being the son or daughter of parents who were born in Korea.  Dillon International will have to seek pre-approval from ESWS to place children with Korean-American families living in states other than Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, or Texas.

For families of Korean Heritage, the age requirements extend from 25 - 47 years old.

Korean-American families adopting from Korea through Dillon International can expect to receive a referral of an infant with an overall shorter adoption process.

• After a family's Adoption Application-Part II has been approved, families will begin their home study.

• Upon home study approval, Korean-American families will be placed on a separate waiting list for a referral of a child

• Korean-American families will wait approximately 3 - 5 months for a referral

• Korean-American families wait another 11 - 16+ months after accepting an assignment of a child for notification that they may travel to receive their child or have their child escorted to the U.S.

• Families may choose to have their child escorted to the nearest U.S. port of entry or to their home airport

• Families who choose to travel to receive their child will make their own travel arrangements after they receive notification that their child is ready for travel

• Families may stay in ESWS' guest house while in Seoul for $60-$90/night or in hotel accommodations close to the ESWS office if the guest house is unavailable

• Traveling families will not have a designated guide while in Korea, but ESWS staff may be available to assist families during their stay

• All paperwork for the adoption process is completed prior to travel, so families do not have any paperwork responsibilities for their child's adoption while they are in Korea

• Traveling families will have the opportunity to meet their child's foster family

• Families may have several opportunities to spend time with their child, but will not receive their child until they are ready to depart for the U.S.

• Sharing small gifts of appreciation with the child's foster family is encouraged

• Families finalize the child's adoption in the U.S. after completing 3 post-placement visits with the family's caseworker, which usually takes 6 months

• Upon adoption finalization, the child becomes an automatic U.S. citizen

• Families are encouraged to apply for a Certificate of U.S. Citizenship from USCIS to verify their child's citizenship as soon as their adoption finalization is complete

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• Dillon International believes that post-adoption support fosters an overall positive adoption experience for both adoptee and adoptive family

• Our long-term experience has shown us that adoptees develop a better sense of identity, purpose, and boost in their self-confidence from an understanding and appreciation of their birth heritage

• The agency provides a variety of activities and events to allow an adoptee and his/her family to celebrate his/her Korean heritage

• Dillon International also provides counseling and assistance to young adult adoptees who want to search for additional background information about their adoption or their birth family

• For more information on specific Korean heritage events, visit the post-adoption section of Dillon's website

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Dillon International is committed to improving the lives of Korea's children whether they are available for adoption or not. 

• Dillon's orphanCare International has a long standing partnership with Eastern Social Welfare Society in Seoul, South Korea.  Funding underwrites a babies hospital and home, a maternity home for unwed mothers, a state-of-the art center that cares for children with special needs plus a vocational training center to help young people as they age out of the orphanage to develop job skills so that they can live on their own.

• Funding also provides foster care to approximately 400 children who are available for adoption.

Dillon's orphanCare International is ONLY able to work with the established programs in the countries currently listed on our website.  Because of limited resources we are not able to respond to new requests for aid.

For more information on how Dillon is improving the lives of children in Korea and in other countries, please visit Dillon's humanitarian aid website: www.orphancareintl.org and click on Korea.

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