NORTH KOREA

Every year on 25th June, South Koreans remember
the thousands civilians who disappeared without trace into North Korea during the Korean War (1950-1953)

28 June 2002

Thousands of Korean civilians have been missing since the Korean War.

Where are they? Are they still alive? Arent they hungry?

Arent they sick? Are they dead? Where are their remains?

So many unanswered questions?

HRWF International Secretariat (28.06.2002) - Website: www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - For more than half a century, those questions do not stop bothering the families of those Koreans who disappeared without trace into North Korea during the Korean War in 1950-1953.

Every 25th June, South Koreans remember them. Particularly the children and relatives of those who were abducted to North Korea.

On 25 June, 1964, on the occasion of the 14th anniversary of the Korean War, the Chosun Ilbo, a leading vernacular daily published in Seoul, in collaboration with the South Korean Red Cross, launched a 55-day sign up campaign to collect one million signatures with call for repatriation of those abducted during the Korea War. In 55 days, a total of 1,011,980 signatures were collected and a petition, containing 102 volumes of signatures, was delivered to the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

According to a survey done by the South Korean Government in 1952, 84,532 civilians were abducted to the North in the course of the Korean War. From 15 June through 15 August 1956 during a process of re-registration, a total of 7,034 persons were reported to have been abducted. In October 1956, the Korean National Red Cross sent the list to the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) as part of a petition demanding for negotiations with the northern counterpart.

The sadness experienced by families of the abducted persons

SBS News (25.06.2001)/ Korean War Abductees' Family Union - website: www.korwarabductees.org - email: whereabouts@korwarabductees.org - Families of the abducted have to swallow their sadness every June 25th. On this 51st anniversary of the Korean War, they appeased the pain of separation by walking along the road where the people were abducted.

Lee Sung-eui, holding her fathers photo on her chest, had lost her father in the Korean War. With her husband and son, she took part in this Walking Rally along the "abducted route" from the site of the previous Seodaemun Prison to Imjingak.

The Korean War was a great tragedy to the Lees. Mrs. Lee, the youngest daughter of seven children, was just a year old when the Korean War broke out. She lost her father, who was a lawyer.

He was taken to the Seodaemun Prison by the North Korean army. It took a long time before they heard that he was abducted to North Korea.

The eldest brother and the fourth oldest sister died during the war, and the third sister and another brother were never heard of again since they went to visit their mothers family in Hwanghae-do.

Looking back upon the past 50 years, her pain was beyond description. Her family had to endure unfair treatment like undergoing surveillance or restriction from being employed.

Let bygones be bygones. She just wishes to know whether her father is still alive or not. Lee Sung-eui said, "I want to know whether he is alive. I wish that Kim Jong-il (president of North Korea) accompanies my father when he visits the South Korea".

When can they meet their loving families in North Korea? What could they be thinking while looking at the balloons flying towards the north?

Lee Sung-eui said, "Though mother has passed away, I wish my father is still alive".

Experiencing the pain of kidnapping

MBC Morning News (26.06.2001)/Korean War Abductees' Family Union - website: www.korwarabductees.org - email: whereabouts@korwarabductees.org - Although many separate families had chances to meet three times, we have not heard of anything regarding those who were abducted to North Korea during the Korean War.

Yesterday, families of the abducted, who spent over half a century with much grief and tears, walked along the road proclaiming that their parents or brothers were abducted, hoping to meet them again someday.

Some felt sad when the meeting of separated families was aired on TV. Yesterday, families of 84,000 persons abducted to North Korea gathered at Tongnipmoon Park, where the previous Seodaemun Prison had been, to walk along the road proclaiming that their parents or brothers were abducted, hoping to meet them again someday.

"He may be dead. But still there s still hope of meeting him. Thats why I am here", said Kang Kyung-yul, a 78 year- old woman about her relative.

To share the pain, they had a poor mans lunch of "Choomukbap(rice ball)".

The third son of Kim Dong-hwan, a poet who wrote the first Korean epic, "Night on the Frontier", Kim Young-shik (68) said he would win a literary award using his fathers pen name to pay tribute to his memory.

They reached Imjingak in a rush with a burning zeal. A 52 year-old woman, Lee Mi-Il, the chairperson of the Korean War Abductees Family Union, is worried about her mother who continues to anxiously wait for her husband for over 50 years. "She have aged suddenly since last year. Its hard to bear seeing mother become weak", she said.

They released 400 balloons into the air with an earnest desire to hear about their families. The balloons flied high toward the north across the armistice line.

For more information, please visit the website of the Korean War Abductees' Family Union - www.korwarabductees.org