Korean Family Discovers Missing Child Was Adopted by American Family After 44 Years

A South Korean government program that aims to reunite overseas Korean adoptees with their biological parents has completed its first successful reunion.

What happened 44 years ago: Yoon Sang-ae, who was born in South Korea in 1973, went missing while at a market with her grandmother when she was three, YonHap News reported.

She would later end up in the care of her adoptive American parents who brought her to the United States months later.
During a visit to South Korea in 2016, Sang-ae registered her DNA information in a bid to find her family.
The following year, her biological mother also registered her DNA.
The National Forensic Service would later discover the biological connection between the two and organized a way to confirm the results.
A South Korean mission in Boston helped her with a second DNA test, making the reunion possible.

Virtual reunion: Sang-ae was reunited with her biological family via a video call on Thursday, 44 years after she was adopted by an American couple.

The emotional video call reunited Sang-hae with her 78-year-old biological mother, Lee Eung-soon.
She also got to meet her twin sister, Yoon Sang-hee, and brother, Yoon Sang-myung, for the first time.

In January, the government started the program that provided a DNA test service for overseas adoptees to make it easier for them to get tested and register their information. The ministry has made the program available in 34 South Korean missions in 14 countries, including the U.S.

Feature Image via Korea Now

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