For overseas Korean adoptees, the search for birth families is a leap into the unknown. They must confront the possibility of unearthing painful truths or hitting dead ends, all while grappling with questions of identity and belonging.

The decision to start this emotionally fraught journey is deeply personal, often driven by a longing for closure, a desire to connect with one’s roots, or a sense of duty to future generations.

Robert Kim Kippers, adopted by a Dutch-Canadian family at age 10 in the early 1970s, waited until retirement to confront his own hidden history. A Canadian documentary sparked his journey,