For many years, CRWRC’s name was synonymous with the Christian Adoption Program of Korea (CAPOK). Following the Korean War (1950-1953), many Korean children were left orphaned. Some were children of the estimated two million Korean civilians killed during the war. Others were “GI babies” fathered by western soldiers and Korean women.

Korean traditional society places significant value on family ties. Children without parents or whose bloodline was not “purely Korean” were not easily accepted into society. In fact, orphans and children who were not part of a Korean family were not considered legal citizens of the country. At the same time, adoption outside of one’s family was stigmatized. That left these children without a home or source of support within Korean society. These children were in great need and the Christian Reformed Church responded.

A true heroine of this effort was CRWRC staff member, Elvinah Spoelstra. Elvinah was a social worker from the United States who joined CAPOK in 1966. She helped transform CAPOK from a custodial child-care program into a genuine adoption program – overcoming cultural resistance to adoption and helping place children into families where they would be cared for by loving parents.

“I remember Elvinah and the work she did with domestic adoption,” said Molly Holt, Chairperson for Holt Children’s Services of Korea. “She worked to make adoptions open and even had 100 day
celebrations and one-year birthdays with adopted children.”

Between 1962 and 1975, CAPOK placed more than 2,000 homeless children in Korean homes. This work was supported by thousands of compassionate Christians in North America who supported CAPOK with their prayers and financial gifts through CRWRC. CAPOK, in turn, was able to care for children until they could be adopted.

The work also involved working with Korean Christians to help them change their view of adoption. Through Elvinah’s work, CAPOK helped Korean Christians advocate successfully for adoption laws and child welfare laws.

In early 1975, difficulty finding financial support among Korean churches combined with new government rulings to convince CRWRC’s board that CAPOK could best survive under new, local leadership. CAPOK transitioned to independence from CRWRC and became the in-country adoption arm of Holt Christian Children’s Services of Korea, which continues to care for Korean children today.