South Koreans are preparing to meet family members they were separated from during the war in the 1950s
When Kim Kwang-ho fled advancing North Korean forces he expected to return home within days, so did not bother a proper goodbye to his mother and brother. On Monday he meets his sibling for the first time in 68 years.
Now 81, Kim is one of a handful of southerners to travel to the North’s scenic Mount Kumgang resort next week for three-day reunions with family members separated by the turmoil of the Korean war.
Millions of Koreans were separated from their relatives by the 1950-53 conflict, which left the peninsula divided and all civilian communication banned between the two sides.
Since 2000, the Koreas have held 20 rounds of reunions, but time is running out for many ageing family members.
More than 130,000 Southerners signed up originally, most of whom have since died. Most of the survivors are over 80 and the oldest this year is 101.
Close family connections across the border, like Kim and his brother or parent-child relationships, have become increasingly rare.
Some selected for this year’s reunions – the first in three years – dropped out after learning their parents or siblings died and they could only meet distant relatives they had never met.
“I was so happy to hear my brother was alive,” Kim said.
But memories have faded over time.
Kim’s father decided to flee, taking his four eldest children with him, when rumours circulated that the North Korean army was advancing on their village in far northern Myongchon county in late 1950.
