Two Korean siblings went missing for 37 years

A brother and sister who had disappeared 37 years ago found their parents after a persistent investigation by the police.

During the investigation, it was revealed that the two children had been the centre of attention for several years and that they had been adopted to France for unknown reasons 36 years ago.

According to the Chungnam Provincial Police Agency, in 1981 and due to economic problems, the two were separated from their parents in Seoul and moved to live with their grandparents in a rural village in Chungnam.

Photo of the two siblings celebrating their birthday

One day, their grandparents became ill and passed away, and were taken care of by a couple who were living in the same village. Unfortunately, however, when the four were set to return to Seoul, the young couple lost the children and the young man died shortly after this incident happened. At that time, the only issue that came up in the media was the death of the young man, but the disappearance of the two children was never mentioned. At that time, their parents had no way to find out their daughter and son whereabouts and spent the following 37 years living in pain. Because of this unforgettable event, they gave up on having more children.

Last July, however, the Chungnam Provincial Police Agency set up a team for long-term disappearances and launched a research to find the long-term missing child, including the two from our story.

The investigation has been difficult from the beginning.

Photo of the two siblings celebrating their birthday some years later

The reason was that after the death of the young man, they had no way to know how and when their children went missing. The only clue showed up when the couple spotted a backpack in a picture of their children. In the photo, the older brother could be seen with a pink short and a black shoulder strap, it was supposed to be the strap of a school bag. At that moment, the police began to scrutinize the records of the nearby elementary schools, considering that Kim was in elementary school at that time. As a result, the police was able to find Kim's record at an elementary school in Asan. By the time the police found this clue until July 1981, the police estimated that the two disappeared around July that year. The police then confirmed that the siblings were alive, and surveyed 214 people across the country with the same name as their siblings and birth.

At that time, the police also considered the possibility of overseas adoption and checked the adoption date of the Central Adoption Office as well as overseas adoption records, confirming that both were adopted in France in February 1982 with some changes on their birth dates. It was definitely not easy to find the siblings in France by simply using photographs and pictures taken 37 years ago. The police have sent dozens of emails to French international students as well as Korean-American organizations asking for help.

The two siblings with their adoptive parents

Fortunately, Koreans citizens in France started to research about the issue and did all that was on their hands. Shim Gwang-seop, a Korean Pastor, looked for the French address of the two children's adoptive parents. As a result, the two were found on January 30th at a nearby village from their adoptive parents.

The police received the siblings DNA confirming their parent's genes. The siblings whom once upon a time were 10 and 7 years old, now are 47 and 44 respectively. "It was very hard to think that my parents abandoned us for 37 years," the sister said.

The four are expected to meet after 37 years at the Hapdeokeup church in Dangjin on May 5th.

A police officer said, "we will keep on investigating how the siblings have been adopted in France and see if there are more similar cases."