SAA Supports Efforts of the Council of Archive Management Organizations in Korea

November 4, 2025—The Society of American Archivists supports the efforts of the Council of Archive Management Organizations in Korea, which is actively advocating for improved management of and access to the records maintained by Korea’s National Center for the Rights of the Child (NCRC). The NCRC is the custodian of vital records related to Korean-born adoptees. Proper management of the records, increasing the breadth of what constitutes the historical record of adoptions, and assurances related to future access to the records are immediately necessary.

Individuals adopted from Korea live around the world, with a substantial number residing in the United States. The records of international adoption held by the NCRC—a government agency in Korea—have immense importance to tens of thousands of people in the US. During the years 1953–2008, the US received over 110,000 children from Korea—that is nearly 60% of all international adoptions of Korean-born children. Furthermore, 10% of Korean Americans’ individual life stories begin with international adoption. [1]

Archives professionals in Korea and adoptees abroad are demanding that the NCRC take its role as steward of these records seriously. The Council of Archive Management Organizations has outlined a number of areas of improvement for managing the archives. These include bringing in adoptee stakeholders to be part of the historical documentation process, ensuring that the physical and digital archives infrastructure is up to the standards of the National Archives of Korea for government records storage, and employing professional archives staff in the NCRC to oversee the establishment of a trustworthy adoption records archives.

The records stewarded by the NCRC have multiple purposes for the thousands of Korean adoptees around the world. They serve official purposes, such as proof of birth, adoption, and citizenship. They also provide adoptees with information related to their identity, which is essential in building a sense of community and belonging in the Korean diaspora. At its essence, this is a matter that exemplifies the deeply human value of archival records.

The effective management of records is an essential activity of any government. In a globalized world, records issues in one location can have reverberations with governments and communities in locations thousands of miles away. As an organization that represents archivists in the United States and North America, we stand with Korean-American adoptees and our counterparts in Korea who are working tirelessly to ensure that adoptees have access to a trustworthy, full, and complete historical record.

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[1] Eleana J. Kim. Adopted Territory: Transnational Korean Adoptees and the Politics of Belonging. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2010.