Finding Someone

Welfare / Whereabouts

If requested, the Embassy will attempt to locate Americans who are believed to be in Korea and are not in communication with family or friends.

Looking for an adopted child's birth parents?

Inquirers should be aware, however, that the Privacy Act prevents divulgence of information unless the subject of the inquiry gives his/her permission. If s/he does not give such permission, the Embassy's only alternative after the individual has been located is to inform him or her that relatives or others are concerned and ask him or her to communicate directly.

Occasionally, welfare-whereabouts requests are made on behalf of minor children by a parent following a divorce or separation. The Embassy cannot take sides in such a dispute. The Embassy will, however, attempt to locate children, if requested, and can transmit information to either parent regarding the child's health and well-being.

We maintain no comprehensive listing of Americans in Korea, though many Americans voluntarily register with the Embassy. If you are asking us to attempt to locate an American, our chances of success are greatly enhanced if you can provide his/her full name, date of birth and any recent contact information you may have for him/her in Korea.
The Embassy cannot locate non-Americans, such as Korean friends. Persons serving in the U.S. military in Korea are best located by contacting the person's service branch (Army, Marines, etc.) directly.

The Embassy cannot send, forward or receive mail on behalf of American Citizens.

Follow this link for additional information from the Department of State about welfare and whereabouts inquiries.

Local Resources

While the Embassy's ability to locate someone is limited, there are a number of resources you may use to locate someone independently. Here are some resources that have proved helpful to others.


National Police Headquarters
Missing Persons Office
#203, Mikeun-dong
Seodaemun-ku, Seoul
Telephone: 82-2-313-0513 or 312-7000 (Korean only)


Newspaper Ads
Here are Korea's largest Korean and English-language daily newspapers. Please contact them directly for rates and other information.


Korean-language newspapers

Hankuk Ilbo
14 Junghak-dong, Chongro-ku
Seoul, Korea
Telephone: 82-2-736-5566


Dong-A Ilbo
139 Sejong-ro, Chongro-ku
Seoul, Korea
Telephone: 82-2-2020-0756

English-language newspapers

Korea Times
14 Junghak-dong, Chongro-ku
Seoul, Korea
Telephone: 82-2-734-6873

Korea Herald
1-12 Hwoihyun-dong, Chung-Ku
Seoul, Korea
Telephone: 82-2-727-0301

Locating Birth Parents

Unfortunately, we cannot assist adopted Americans in locating their Korean birth parents in Korea. You may, however, wish to correspond directly with the appropriate adoption facility and/or adoption agency in hopes of locating your birth parents yourself.


The Embassy does not maintain any log of which agency sponsored which child, and we do not have historical records or contact information on agencies that are no longer in business. To get you started in your search, below is the contact information for four agencies that are currently active in Korea, as well as some on-line sources.

Eastern Child Welfare Society (Korean Christian Crusade)

Seoul
493 Changchun-dong
Sudaemun-ku, Seoul 120-180

Tel. 82-2-324-0862, 82-2-332-3941/5
FAX 82-2-333-1588


Pusan
1156-7 Choryang 3-dong
Dong-ku, Pusan 601-013

Tel. 82-51-409-5586


Taegu
154 Shinchun, 3-dong
Dong-ku, Taegu 701-023

Tel. 82-53-755-1077

Holt Children's Services

Seoul
382-14 Hapjong-dong, Mapo-ku
Seoul 121-220

Tel. 82-2-332-7501/4
FAX 82-2-334-5440

Pusan
1158-2 Choryang, 3-dong
Dong-ku, Pusan 601-013

Tel. 82-51-465-0224, 82-51-468-4576

Taegu
238-50 Bomoh-dong
Susang-ku, Taegu 706-010

Tel. 82-53-756-0183/4

 

Korea Social Services

Seoul
533-3 Ssangmun-dong
Dobang-ku, Seoul 132-030

Tel. 82-2-993-2381, 82-2-993-0821
FAX 82-2-908-3344

Korean Social Welfare Society

Seoul
718-35 Yoksam-dong, Kangnam-ku
Seoul 135-080

    or

CPO Box 24
Seoul 100-600

Tel. 82-2-552-6227, 82-2-552-1015/8
FAX 82-2-552-1019

Pusan
San 22-1, Wooam-dong
Nam-ku, Pusan 608-060

Tel. 82-51-647-3655/6

Taegu
128-1 Bomoh, 3-dong
Susung-ku, Taegu 706-013

Tel. 82-53-756-1392/5

Other Sources

We know of two Korean web sites devoted to helping people locate their birth parents. Both sites have an English-language section and on-line databases.

Findparent   /   HumanFind

 

Another option would be to contact KBS Television's popular show "Achim Madang", which every Wednesday airs a segment called "Missing Persons Search". If you don't speak Korean, you'll need a Korean-speaking friend to help you sign up by calling 82-2-781-3521. Unfortunately, the wait for new cases to be aired is several months.

Follow this link for  information on how to adopt a child from Korea

For American Citizen Services (ACS) inquiries, please e-mail us at: seoul_acs@state.gov.

ACS may also be contacted by telephone at 02-397-4114 or by fax at 02-397-4101.

This is an official U.S. Government source for information on the internet. Inclusion of non-U.S. Government links or information does not imply endorsement of contents.

The U.S. Embassy is closed on both U.S. and Korean holidays.

Updated November 27, 2007