Eun Seo-ran (pronounced OON-SAW-RAHN), 44, met her best friend, Lee Eo-rie (pronounced EE-AW-REE), 38, back in 2016 after they had both moved to the Jeolla region of South Korea, wanting to escape the stresses of city life. Soon after meeting, they found out how they had many things in common and they developed a deep friendship. Later, they decided to live together.
However, even though they were particularly close friends, had been accustomed to each other's lifestyles, and can practically be called 'family', they still weren't legally related. This was especially the case during medical emergencies.
Under South Korean law, only family members have the right to visit patients in the hospital or sign off on anything that the patient needed such as urgent surgical procedures or any other invasive treatments which requires some form of consent.
So, Seo-ran and Eo-rie thought about ways they could become legally considered a family. They thought about faking a romantic relationship but since same-sex marriages are still not legally recognized in South Korea, it wasn't plausible.
Fortunately, adult adoptions are possible in South Korea, and the process is surprisingly easy. Only three things are necessary for the process: Seo-ran had to prove she was older than Eo-rie, they had to get Eo-rie's mother's consent, and Eo-rie must not be Seo-ran's biological child.
After completing the paperwork, they started the process which finished within 24 hours. The story became viral so much so that Seo-ran wrote a book about it titled I Adopted a Friend.
(Video credit: Macau Business TV/Youtube)