Back in 1976, when Denise McCarthy was three years old, she and her twin sister, Sang-Hee, got lost while visiting a market in Seoul, South Korea. Sang-Hee was found three days later, but Denise was taken to an orphanage and then later adopted by American parents, who raised her in Vermont.
Denise is now 46 years old and — for the first time in her life — met her biological family, thanks to a Korean DNA program that matches U.S. adoptees with their families.
While Denise was growing up, she always thought that she was abandoned. But when she reconnected with her biological family — and learned she had a twin sister — she was thrilled to learn the truth. It was just an accident and her birth family had been looking for her constantly.
Denise was able to meet her mom, sister, and older brother — and explained that having this missing piece is just “incredibly overwhelming and happy” and it makes her feel “whole.”
