The situation in North Korea

Many orphans live on the markets and in train stations of North Korea, wandering about in the cold, searching for food and shelter. North Korean street orphans are called Kotjebi (꽃제비), which means “flower swallows”, a species of bird known to constantly search for food and shelter.

The number of orphaned North Korean children grew over the past three decades as many died during the famine from the 1990s and many women who were moms were trafficked to China. Many orphans were sent to North Korean state-run and private orphanages. Stories from both types of orphanages are equally treacherous, fraught with instances of forced labor, overcrowding and lack of food and supplies. Physical and sexual abuse is also a heartbreaking reality in North Korean orphanages.

Kim Jong Un wants the world to believe he cares for orphans. He has established orphanages for foreign delegates to see as evidence of his work, yet much of the aid sent is rifled through, leaving orphans with “almost nothing”. Many orphans run away to live with grandparents or relatives while those with no alternatives try to survive on their own. Like flower swallows, they wander the streets begging for food and looking for shelter.

It is unknown how many children are orphaned in North Korea today.

Adopting North Korean Orphans

In January 2012, President Obama signed into law the North Korean Child Welfare Act of 2012. This new law calls for the U.S. State Department to advocate for the "best interests" of North Korean children, which includes helping facilitate adoption of children living outside of North Korea lacking parental care. Unfortunately, there are no specifics on how to accomplish these goals nor is it able to help orphans still in North Korea. While the law showed promise, there has been little progress since this act was signed.

Adopting directly from North Korea would require the involvement of the North Korean court system, proper documentation of a search for the child’s birth parents and legal permission for that child to leave North Korea. All three of these requirements are impossibilities. Without seismic changes to Kim Jon Un’s rule, the best chance at helping orphaned North Korean children will be limited to those who have escaped their homeland and become “stateless”. Steve Morrison, founder of Mission to Promote the Adoption of Kids (MPAK) explains more in the following video.

North Korean Orphans in China

There are as many as 40,000 orphans who have escaped to China, according to Kim Yong-Hwa, founder of the North Korean Refugees Human Rights Association. These children are stateless and likely without proper care in China.

In our next piece, we will dive deeper into the Chinese adoption system and how North Korean refugees, including orphaned children, are impacted.

Related articles and videos:

• Article - North Korean Orphans

• Video - Is it possible to adopt a North Korean orphan?