Economic and social change...
Beginning in the 1960s, South Korea experienced rapid economic and social change, including greater cultural acceptance of domestic adoption. As more Korean families embraced orphaned and abandoned children into their homes, Korea saw a diminished need to place children overseas. And in the mid-1970s, Korea stated a goal to end the practice of international adoption.

Placements slow...
In 1994, the Korean government began limiting the number of children allowed to leave the country each year to join families overseas. While Holt continued to find families for children from Korea, the pace at which children are placed grew progressively slower.

A continuing need for international adoption...
Today, there still exists a strong and urgent need for international adoption from Korea. The children who do find homes in Korea are often younger children with no known health conditions. In Korea, girls are also preferred to boys. As a result, the children left in care frequently have medical or developmental conditions, are often older, and are mostly male.

Through international adoption, many of these children are able to find the loving families they deserve. The vast majority of children Holt now places from Korea have at least some normal neonatal conditions, and most of them are boys.

To learn about the many different ways Holt serves children and families in Korea, click here.

Children recently home from Korea