hankyoreh

96

By Kim Kyu-won, staff reporter

Before Chuseok, the Korean harvest festival, in Sep. 2013, North and South Korea each chose 100 people to take part in the reunions of families divided by the Korean War. Five months later, there are 30 fewer participants, with 82 from South Korea (58 accompanying family members) and 88 from North Korea. On Feb. 19, just one day before the reunions, Lee Geun-su, 83, an elderly man born in South Hamgyong Province in the North, had to cancel his participation because of health complications.

The lists of divided family members originally traded by North and South Korea in preparation for the reunions, scheduled for Sep. 25, 2013, included 250 people from the South and 200 from the North. Of the 250 applicants from South Korea, 167 were confirmed to have family in the North, and 117 indicated that they were able to attend the reunions. However, only 96 of these actually wanted to participate in the reunions.

the oldest of the South Koreans selected to participate in today’s reunions of divided family members

Of the 200 applicants from North Korea, 149 were found to have family in the South. 127 of these said they were able to participate in the reunions, and 100 were included on the final list of reunion participants.

But after North Korea unilaterally delayed the reunions in Sep. 2013, the number of participants decreased even further. Fourteen more South Korean participants had decided not to attend the reunions by Feb. 19, and two of these were laid to rest without ever being reunited with their families. The reason that the other 12 chose not to participate was because of their worsening health.

The five months that passed since Sep. 2013 were a long time for the elderly divided family members, and the winter also took a heavy toll on them. Sadly, it is very unlikely that the people who chose not to participate in this reunion will ever have another chance. Even though they now know that they have family members in North Korea, they will probably never be able to meet them.

The number of participants from North Korea also decreased by 12, from 100 to 88.

Since 1988, 129,287 people have registered with the Unification Ministry as members of divided families. So far, 57,784 of these have passed away, with 71,503 still alive.

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