Koreans Find Glimmer of Hope in Family Reunions

When the iron curtain fell between North and South Korea at the start of the Korean War in 1950, an estimated 100,000 families were separated. My wife’s grandmother was among those who made it to the South but would never see their family who stayed behind again. By chance or by choice, she was separated from her loved ones, probably not realizing she would probably never see them again. Chances are she won’t see them before she passes and they might not even still be alive.

Granted, family reunions have been held between the two countries since the war. But the number of families that have been granted the privilege is a fraction of the total- approximately 16,000 families. During that time, for the other less fortunate families, there have been no phone calls, no letters, and no emails. My wife’s grandmother doesn’t even know if her siblings are still alive.

Recent strife between the countries suspended the family reunion program for a year and nine months. With talks resuming this week, Koreans are optimistic that family reunions will start again as soon as October. Still, only 100 families are likely to be involved.

I wonder about this woman who has been separated from her kin for so long. I wonder what it must be like to know that your siblings are a few hundred miles away or to not know if they are even alive. For all she knows, they may have all died decades ago. She has moved on with her life. She lives in the countryside of South Korea. She raises her own food and climbs a mountain everyday. She has raised five children who have gone on to their own lives in South Korea and in the U.S. I wonder if, with all the intervening years, her memory of her family has faded.

Similar stories came out of the USSR during the Cold War, especially for Germans and Prussians who suddenly found their homelands divided and their families scattered in the aftermath of the World War II. Fortunately, those who lived to see the fall of the iron curtain did have a chance to reunite with loved ones and reconnect their scattered families.

So, is there hope for Koreans of a permanent reunion with their loved ones separated from them by an oppressive regime? The iron curtain fell faster in Europe than anyone could have imagined. Maybe someday in the near-future, Kim Jong Il will suddenly release his grip on his people and open his borders. Maybe they will cease threatening the world with a nuclear war they can’t possibly win. Maybe their people will be able to receive the truth about their global neighbors, not fear-mongering propaganda but uncensored truth.

Until then, brief family reunions are the only hope separated Korean families have of reforming broken bonds.