Adoptee Living in Korea

My name is Michelle Cocita Byer, and my Korean name is Park Yunha (박연하). I was born in South Korea in the early 1970s and adopted to the United States as a baby.

I am searching for information about my birth family and the circumstances surrounding my life in Korea before my adoption.

I currently live in Korea with my two children.

I am sharing my baby photograph in the hope that someone may recognize me, remember something about my early history, or see a family resemblance. Even a seemingly insignificant detail could be meaningful.

Korean name: Park Yunha (박연하) Given by orphanage

Date of birth: exact date unknown. Papers say June 19, 1973

Place of birth/found location, if known: papers say Heungnam near Gunsan but this may be falsified.

Orphanage/agency: Eastern Social Welfare Society (AKA David’s Livingston Adoption Program in 1973 and later Dillon)

Date adopted/departed Korea: January 1974

Adopted to: United States

DNA testing: [AncestryDNA / MyHeritage / FamilyTreeDNA]

After more than fifty years, I still hope there may be someone in Korea who knows a piece of my story and connect me with any birth family (mother, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins)

The attached baby photo is the earliest photo I have. I think I am 6-9 months old. I had it colorized.