Midwest Archives Conference Statement on Korean Adoption RecordsThe Midwest Archives Conference (MAC) supports the efforts of the Council of Archive Management Organizations in Korea (the Council) in holding the National Center for the Rights of the Child (NCRC), a Korean governmental agency, accountable for its legal responsibility to preserve and make accessible adoption files for Korean adoptees. Adoption records are crucial in providing adoptees and adoptive families with vital medical, genetic, and personal history. They can offer closure, reveal origins, complete family trees, and inform health decisions, serving as a fundamental link to cultural, ethnic, and racial heritage. From 1953-2008, the United States received nearly 110,000 Korean-born children through forced immigration practices, accounting for over 60% of all Korean international adoptions. Midwestern states including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, and Michigan received a large population of Korean adoptees; as professionals who live and work in the Midwest, MAC members live and work amongst individuals who rely on these records to understand their personal histories and identities. MAC acknowledges the significant trauma faced by Korean adoptees in particular, many of whose documents were falsified by adoption agencies through processes facilitated by the government itself. The Council of Archive Management Organizations in Korea has identified a number of areas where the NCRC currently fails to meet professional best practices and standards of care. The Council seeks improvements to safeguard records held in NCRC’s temporary storage facilities by improving climate conditions, installing adequate fire suppression systems, and improving physical and digital infrastructure; employing professional staff members who are trained in archives and records management practices; and involving adoptees in the ongoing curation and development of the adoption archive that documents their experiences. MAC strongly supports our global archival colleagues, the Council of Archives Management Organizations in Korea, and our fellow Midwest Korean Americans who are deeply impacted by the inaccessibility of these records. Approved by the MAC Council on February 3, 2026. |