Wrap up of 21st Family Reunions
- 6 years ago
It was over as soon as it began.
That's how it felt for the participants of the long-overdue reunion event for families torn apart by a war that divided a nation in two.
What made it even harder for those of us watching the touching meetings... is how we could sense, the greying Koreans... hoping to make each second count and last.
To get a better understanding of how the long overdue event went first-hand.
Let's turn to our Unification ministry correspondent who has been bringing us all the moments as they happened.
Oh Jung-hee joins us in the studio.
Jung-hee, welcome.
Great to be here.
We have an idea of what the atmosphere was like at the venue.
But I'm sure we cannot fathom how difficult it must have been to hold back the tears while constantly updating us with the stories.
Well, we saw a lot of people burst into tears right when they saw their North Korean relatives... mostly because they resemble their South Korean family members who've already passed away.
For example, nieces meeting their aunts would cry out that their North Korean aunt looks so much like their mom.
And there was the really sad case of a 67-year-old South Korean man who met his 88-year-old North Korean dad for the first time in his life... because they'd been separated when the man's mother was pregnant.
A 92-year-old woman met her son for the first time in 70 years.
The last time they were together, the man was only four.
There were a lot of heartbreaking stories -- and therefore, a lot of tears and regret at the reunions.
Before I go deeper, let's take a look at some actual footage of these scenes.
1) "You have a mole here and so did our mom. You look iso much like my mother. It's as if you were twins."
2) "Mother waited 68 years for you. I'm glad you're well and healthy. Never in my dreams did I htink you'd be alive."
3) "Are you Sang-chul? You are Sang-chul You are You are Sang-chul "
That's how it felt for the participants of the long-overdue reunion event for families torn apart by a war that divided a nation in two.
What made it even harder for those of us watching the touching meetings... is how we could sense, the greying Koreans... hoping to make each second count and last.
To get a better understanding of how the long overdue event went first-hand.
Let's turn to our Unification ministry correspondent who has been bringing us all the moments as they happened.
Oh Jung-hee joins us in the studio.
Jung-hee, welcome.
Great to be here.
We have an idea of what the atmosphere was like at the venue.
But I'm sure we cannot fathom how difficult it must have been to hold back the tears while constantly updating us with the stories.
Well, we saw a lot of people burst into tears right when they saw their North Korean relatives... mostly because they resemble their South Korean family members who've already passed away.
For example, nieces meeting their aunts would cry out that their North Korean aunt looks so much like their mom.
And there was the really sad case of a 67-year-old South Korean man who met his 88-year-old North Korean dad for the first time in his life... because they'd been separated when the man's mother was pregnant.
A 92-year-old woman met her son for the first time in 70 years.
The last time they were together, the man was only four.
There were a lot of heartbreaking stories -- and therefore, a lot of tears and regret at the reunions.
Before I go deeper, let's take a look at some actual footage of these scenes.
1) "You have a mole here and so did our mom. You look iso much like my mother. It's as if you were twins."
2) "Mother waited 68 years for you. I'm glad you're well and healthy. Never in my dreams did I htink you'd be alive."
3) "Are you Sang-chul? You are Sang-chul You are You are Sang-chul "