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Adoptees from Korea say they were isolated and abused in the US. Were they also ‘stolen’ from their birth parents?

Last year, South Korea took responsibility for enabling the ‘mass export’ of children for sale abroad. Now those uprooted are grappling with false promises of a better life As international, transracial adoptees in their 30s in the US, Jacquelyn Wells and Lauren White-Gydas have things in common. They were both born in South Korea to unwed mothers in the 1980s. Both were shipped to the US as newborns to join white families who eagerly welcomed adorable, new daughters. And neither knew many other Asians in the towns where they grew up – Wells in Westford, Massachusetts, and White-Gydas in Salem, Oregon. Continue reading...

Image from linked report: Adoptees from Korea say they were isolated and abused in the US. Were they also ‘stolen’ from their birth parents?
Image from the linked report: Adoptees from Korea say they were isolated and abused in the US. Were they also ‘stolen’ from their birth parents?.Credit: The Guardian Thumbnail shown with attribution and outbound source link; VINI does not claim ownership or republish the original article body. Image source External image shown with attribution and an outbound source link; VINI does not claim ownership or republish the original article body.
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Why it mattersGlobal

Last year, South Korea took responsibility for enabling the ‘mass export’ of children for sale abroad. Now those uprooted are grappling with false promises of a better life As international, transracial adoptees in their 30s in the US, Jacquelyn Wells and Lauren White-Gydas have things in common. They were both born in South Korea to unwed mothers in the 1980s. Both were shipped to the US as newborns to join white families who eagerly welcomed adorable, new daughters. And neither knew many other Asians in the towns where they grew up – Wells in Westford, Massachusetts, and White-Gydas in Salem, Oregon. Continue reading...

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What happened

According to The Guardian’s source item, Adoptees from Korea say they were isolated and abused in the US. Were they also ‘stolen’ from their birth parents?, Last year, South Korea took responsibility for enabling the ‘mass export’ of children for sale abroad. Now those uprooted are grappling with false promises of a better life As international, transracial adoptees in their 30s in the US, Jacquelyn Wells and Lauren White-Gydas have things in common. They were both born in South Korea to unwed mothers in the 1980s. Both were shipped to the US as newborns to join white families who eagerly welcomed adorable, new daughters. And neither knew many other Asians in the towns where they grew up – Wells in Westford, Massachusetts, and White-Gydas in Salem, Oregon. Continue reading…

Context

The development sits in VINI’s Global file for readers following international affairs, institutions, conflict, diplomacy, economics, and cross-border consequences. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-10-22T09:00:57+00:00.

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Primary source: Adoptees from Korea say they were isolated and abused in the US. Were they also ‘stolen’ from their birth parents? via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.

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