Schedule of Adoption Fees

My parents remitted a total of US $1500 to Eastern Social Welfare as fees for my adoption, when I was 8 weeks old. This was an amount equivalent to around 1,000,000 won.

In 1977, the adoption legislation in Korea (Article 8 of the Enforcement Decree of the Special Adoption Act) allowed adoption agencies to start collecting fees from adoptive parents to cover the costs of arranging international adoptions.

In 1982, the maximum amount that could be charged was set at US $1,450. This figure was decided by a meeting of adoption agency directors.

For perspective on the value of a Korean Won in the mid 1980s, a university graduate starting at one of Korea’s large companies such as Samsung or Hyundai would have expected to make 300,000 won ($438) per month. A low skilled factory worker would have made around 150,000 won ($219). A 60 sqm apartment in Yeouido, Seoul could be purchased for 30,000,000 won ($43,795). A bowl of black bean noodles 짜장면 (a basic and well loved meal that also acts as an economic indicator in Korea) cost around 572 won (83 cents).