The South Korean government, Western countries and adoption agencies worked in tandem to satiate intense demand for adoptable babies in the West, despite years of evidence they were being procured through questionable or downright unscrupulous means,

South Korea’s adoption program started with the unwanted children of Korean women and Western soldiers from the 1950-53 Korean war, and then included the children of single mothers, the poor and others.

For adoptees who have looked into their roots, the inaccurate information has led to mistaken reunions, swapped identities and forgotten family histories, according to an Associated Press investigation.