South Korea admits to widespread adoption fraud. Here's one story

Summary

Podcast Summary: Consider This from NPR Episode: South Korea Admits to Widespread Adoption Fraud. Here's One Story
Release Date: March 31, 2025
Host: Ailsa Chang
Guest: Diane Borche Leem, Documentarian and Korean Adoptee

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Introduction

In this poignant episode of NPR's Consider This, host Ailsa Chang delves into the heart-wrenching revelations surrounding South Korea's international adoption practices. The episode focuses on Diane Borche Leem’s personal journey uncovering the widespread adoption fraud admitted by the South Korean government, shedding light on the systemic issues that have affected over 140,000 adoptees globally.

Diane Borche Leem’s Story

Diane Borche Leem’s story begins with unexplained flashbacks from her childhood in South Korea. As she recounts:

“[00:06] Diane Borche Leem: These brief images of a little home in the hills, scenes from an orphanage, children running around, shoes on a rack.”

Initially dismissing these as dreams, Diane soon realizes they might be actual memories from her past. Adopted by an American family in Fremont, California, in 1966 at the age of eight, Diane begins to question the authenticity of her adoption records.

Her investigative journey leads her to a shocking discovery:

“[00:42] Diane Borche Leem: I asked my adoptive mother if I could have my adoption records, and as I looked through them, I discovered that there were two pictures, one that was of me and one that was of another girl. And yet on the back of both pictures was the same name, the name that I was adopted with, which was Cha Jung Hee.”

This revelation uncovers that Diane was mistakenly switched with another child, identifying her true name as Kang OK Jin. Her biological mother was still alive, contradicting the adoption records that labeled her as an orphan.

Unveiling the Truth

Determined to uncover the truth, Diane returns to South Korea in the 1980s to confront the orphanage and the social worker responsible for her adoption process. She documents this journey in her film, First Person Plural. Diane explains:

“[04:18] Diane Borche Leem: Yes. So I returned to Korea in the 1980s and went to the orphanage and met the social worker who handled my case. And in fact, I made a film about this called First Person Plural...”

The social worker admits to the switch, revealing that the original child was not sent for adoption as planned. Instead, Diane was placed in her stead with falsified documentation, ensuring her passage to the United States as Cha Jung Hee, an orphan without a known family.

Context of Adoption Fraud in South Korea

Ailsa Chang provides a broader context of the situation:

“[01:33] Ailsa Chang: In the decades after the Korean war, more than 140,000 South Korean children were adopted by families living abroad. Last week, the South Korean government admitted that there are many stories like Diane Borche Lim's. A years long investigation by a Truth and Reconciliation commission found that the country's adoption agencies were responsible for widespread fraud, malpractice and even human rights violations.”

This admission marks a significant turning point, acknowledging the systemic failures and unethical practices that plagued the international adoption system in South Korea.

Impact on Adoptees and Families

The revelations have profound effects on adoptees and their families. Diane articulates the existential crisis faced by many adoptees:

“[06:19] Diane Borche Leem: I think just the fact of not knowing where we come from and not knowing one's origins and the inability to actually track down those origins is really difficult. I think it's an existential need that we all have...”

She emphasizes the universal desire for identity and roots, despite being raised in loving families:

“[06:19] Diane Borche Leem: I was adopted into a very loving, caring family... and yet I wanted to know who I was.”

Official Admission and Call for Justice

The South Korean government's admission has elicited mixed emotions among adoptees. Diane shares her feelings:

“[07:43] Diane Borche Leem: I think I just felt a mixture of emotions... sometimes I just feel numb about it because it's just so overwhelming.”

She advocates for broader investigations beyond South Korea, highlighting the need for accountability in countries like the United States:

“[08:33] Diane Borche Leem: Absolutely. I think there are hundreds of thousands of people who have been adopted from Korea, Guatemala, China, Colombia, India, et cetera. I think there needs to be an investigative effort here in the U.S...”

Pathways to Justice and Reconciliation

Diane outlines what true justice would look like for affected adoptees:

“[09:24] Diane Borche Leem: I think a truth and reconciliation process isn't binding. I know one of the recommendations is to issue a formal apology. I think an apology would be fine, but I think it needs to be followed through concrete action...”

She calls for:

• Access to Adoption Records: Ensuring adoptees can retrieve accurate information about their origins.
• Enhanced Support Systems: Providing financial and social support for adoptive families, especially those led by single parents.
• Policy Reforms: Ending international adoptions from South Korea to prevent further injustices.

Conclusion

Diane Borche Leem’s narrative serves as a powerful testament to the enduring quest for identity and truth among international adoptees. The South Korean government's acknowledgment of adoption fraud marks a critical step towards reconciliation, but as Diane emphasizes, tangible actions and widespread investigations are essential to address the deep-seated wounds left by decades of systemic malpractice.

This summary captures the essence of the episode, presenting Diane’s personal story within the broader context of international adoption fraud in South Korea, and highlighting the ongoing quest for justice and identity among affected individuals.

Transcript

[Ailsa Chang]

Diane Borche Leem started having these flashbacks when she was in college.

[Diane Borche Leem]

These brief images of a little home in the hills, scenes from an orphanage, children running around, shoes on a rack.

[Ailsa Chang]

At first she thought that they were dreams, but then she realized maybe these were memories. You see, Liam is an adoptee. She grew up with an American family in Fremont, California, who adopted her in 1966 when she was eight years years old. These flashbacks, she thought, must be snippets from her childhood in South Korea. And they made her want to dig more deeply into her past.

[Diane Borche Leem]

I asked my adoptive mother if I could have my adoption records, and as I looked through them, I discovered that there were two pictures, one that was of me and one that was of another girl. And yet on the back of both pictures was the same name, the name that I was adopted with, which was Cha Jung Hee.

[Ailsa Chang]

In that moment, Lim realized she had been switched with another child. She wasn't an orphan named Cha Jung Hee like her adoption documents said. She was a girl named Kang OK Jin, whose mother, she soon learned, was very much still alive.

[Diane Borche Leem]

It was just a transformative moment in my life to know that I had been switched with another child. My adoptive parents knew nothing about it, and that it took all these years to kind of come to terms with the truth.

[Ailsa Chang]

In the decades after the Korean war, more than 140,000 South Korean children were adopted by families living abroad. Last week, the South Korean government admitted that there are many stories like Diane Borche Lim's. A years long investigation by a Truth and Reconciliation commission found that the country's adoption agencies were responsible for widespread fraud, malpractice and even human rights violations.

[Diane Borche Leem]

Who were our parents? Where were we born? We have a right to our identities.

[Ailsa Chang]

Consider this what does justice look like for the Korean adoptees who are robbed of their own histories? From npr, I'm Elsa Changing.

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[Ailsa Chang]

It's consider this from npr. Diane Borche Leem is a documentarian. She's made films about her own story and about the story of Korea's international adoption program. So she's familiar with the malpractice DD in the new report from the South Korean government's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The commission's work is ongoing and she has submitted her own case for review. My co host, Juana Summers, talked with Liam about what the report means to her and other adoptees. But first wanna wanted to know, did Liam ever confront the adoption agency about her falsified paperwork?

[Diane Borche Leem]

Yes. So I returned to Korea in the 1980s and went to the orphanage and met the social worker who handled my case. And in fact, I made a film about this called First Person Plural. And she basically stated that there was a girl at the orphanage named Cha Chung He. She had been adopted by Arnold and Alvin Borche. All the paperwork had been signed, the money had been exchanged and, you know, photos had been sent and letters exchanged, et cetera. And my parents were really excited to adopt this girl. But at the last minute, her father, her Korean father, said, no, I'm not going to send my child for adoption and took her home. And so she admitted that she looked around. What she said was that she did not want to disappoint my American parents. So she looked around for a replacement, thought I was about the same age and height and looked similar to her and put me in her place. So my picture was put on her passport and they sent this second picture of, quote, Cha Jung Hee, but it was a picture of me with her name written on the back, and then sent me as her. And the interesting thing is, and this is what I think the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Korea is discovering, is that the paperwork was so complete that aside from these two photos, no one would have known that a switch had been made because I came to the US As a complete orphan. So although I had family and even Cha Jung Hee had a family, the paperwork was such that she was considered a, quote, orphan with no family anywhere in the world.

[Juana Summers]

I'm wondering what you can tell us based on your own experience and the experience of other Korean adoptees that you have spoken with, about how the turbulent beginnings that we've been talking about, how they've affected the lives of these adoptees. As well as their families.

[Diane Borche Leem]

I think just the fact of not knowing where we come from and not knowing one's origins and the inability to actually track down those origins is really difficult. I think we all want to know where we come from, and we have a right to know, even though many of us. You know, I myself, for example, I was adopted into a very loving, caring family. You know, they provided everything that they could possibly provide for me in terms of education, caring, all of those things. And yet I wanted to know who I was. So I think it's an existential need that we all have. And the problem with the system of sort of industrialized adoptions that occurred in Korea is that it made it very difficult for us to return and find those origins and find an answer to these questions that I think it's very difficult to live without knowing, you know, the answers to.

[Juana Summers]

The commission has only just begun to look into a few hundred cases. That's out of hundreds of thousands of children who were adopted abroad. And I'm just curious, what is your initial reaction to this official admission from the government?

[Diane Borche Leem]

I think I just felt a mixture of emotions. You know, on the one hand, I felt relief that what we as adopted Koreans have known for many years has been affirmed by a governmental entity. At the same time, I think I just felt a lot of anger that this was allowed to happen on such a mass scale, and just a tremendous amount of grief for families who have lost children to adoption, for the adopted people, ourselves, and even to the adoptive families. So just to be honest, sometimes I just feel numb about it because it's just so overwhelming.

[Juana Summers]

I know that several countries that received children from South Korea, they've opened their own investigations. The US Is not among them. Would you like to see that happen here?

[Diane Borche Leem]

Absolutely. You know, I think there are hundreds of thousands of people who have been adopted from Korea, Guatemala, China, Colombia, India, et cetera. I think there needs to be an investigative effort here in the U.S. you know, how many of these children have similar experiences, falsified documents, or were trafficked? How many of us are searching? So an investigation in the US Needs to take place, you know, from all of these countries.

[Juana Summers]

So we have this report now. But I wonder for you personally, what would you want to see? What would you need to feel a sense of justice, to feel that things are being done right by you?

[Diane Borche Leem]

You know, I think the. I think a truth and reconciliation process isn't binding. I know one of the recommendations is to issue a formal apology. I think an apology would be fine, but I think it needs to be followed through concrete action. I think this process can lead to truth finding and a way by which society can come to terms with some of these historical wrongdoings collectively. But I think really there needs to be some concrete action. So adoptees need to have access to their records. Adoption agencies are currently transferring records to the government agency called the national center for the Rights of the Child. That process needs to be better funded and better staffed. I think policy wise, there still needs to be better financial support and social support for families, you know, that are headed by single parents, whether it's a single mother, single father, a grandparent, et cetera. And I think that it's time for South Korea to end international adoptions.

[Juana Summers]

That is filmmaker Diane Borche Leem. Thank you so much.

[Diane Borche Leem]

Thank you.

[Ailsa Chang]

This episode was produced by Michelle Aslam and Connor Donovan. It was edited by Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. It's CONSIDER this from npr. I'm Ailsa Chang.

[Tanya Mosley]

This is Tanya Mosley, co host of Fresh Air. Amanda Knox spent nearly four years in prison for a murder she did not commit. When she was exonerated, she made an unusual decision to befriend the prosecutor who argued for her guilt. Maybe he could help her make sense of her case.

[NPR]

I spent years thinking about it and trying to understand it until I realized that I could just ask.

[Tanya Mosley]

Listen to this interview on the FRESH AIR podcast.

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[Diane Borche Leem]

Want to.

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