First Mother of Stolen Adoptee Presenting Before the UN

For a mother of two daughters, Han Tae Soon, time stood still in 1975. Han Tae Soon went to the market one day in 1975 with her youngest daughter. Her elder 5-year-old daughter, Shin Gyong-ha, stayed at home to play in front of the house and walk to her grandmother's house, 1.5 kilometers away. However, before Han Tae Soon could return, Shin Gyong-han had disappeared.

It would be more than 40 years before daughter and mother would be reunited, thanks to DNA. Behind the story of the "mysterious" disappearance lies a different story, one of the adoption agency Holt Children's Service abducting children for adoption. 

Han Tae Soon's daughter, Shin Gyong-ha, remembers it all. On that fateful day, she was abducted by a woman who placed her on a train where she was left alone. Shin Gyong-ha was then taken to the police, and although she said she had a mother, a father and siblings, she was taken to an orphanage run by an American, Jane White.

Jane White, it was later learned, functioning as both as Holt's reference to the orphanage and Holt's own social worker, was able to change Shin Gyong-ha's name and declare her an orphan on paper.

Jane White, it was later learned, functioning as both as Holt's reference to the orphanage and Holt's own social worker, was able to change Shin Gyong-ha's name and declare her an orphan on paper. Now re-registed as a completely different person, Shin Gyong-ha was sent to the United States for adoption.

Han Tae Soon and other brave Korean mothers have made an organization for mothers who have had their children stolen. On September 20, 2023, Han Tae Soon will tell her story before the United Nations.

This case, similar to many of the other cases of stolen children, is testimony to the fact that the adoption agencies, in their eagerness to adopt children out for monetary gain, disregarded ethical adoption practices and children's human rights.

In addition, the Korean TV channel SBS has made a program depicting the story of Han Tae Soon and Shin Gyong-Ha. Alarmingly, this case, similar to many of the other cases of stolen children, is testimony to the fact that the adoption agencies, in their eagerness to adopt children out for monetary gain, disregarded ethical adoption practices and children's human rights.

The adoption agency Holt and other adoption agencies thus far deny any culpability.