Kim Tak-un was four years old when he was adopted by a Swedish family in 1974. Originally from South Korea, Tak-un had lived with his single father, a labourer who moved frequently for work. One day in the summer of 1974, while staying with his aunt, Tak-un wandered outside and disappeared.
Local police considered him abandoned and referred him to an adoption agency, which arranged his adoption to Sweden within five months. When his father realised his son was missing, he searched everywhere, only to discover – too late – that Tak-un had already been sent overseas. Devastated, he demanded Tak-un’s return. When the adoption agency failed to respond, he went public with the story.
In March 2025, South Korea’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission released initial findings from its investigation into the country’s 72-year-old international adoption programme. The full report is expected in the next few weeks as the investigation is now completed.
