Nearly 60 years after he escaped from advancing Chinese and North Korean troops, Shin Kang-Sun is overcome with emotion as he prepares to reunite with the daughters he left behind during the Korean War.
Shin, 92, said Friday he had spent many sleepless nights after his request was accepted to see the three daughters he left as small children in the North in early 1951.
File photo: instablogs.com
'I'm so overwhelmed by emotions. I'm going to see my daughters for the first time in almost 60 years,' Shin told AFP.
'I still vividly remember the day as if it were yesterday when my five-year-old first daughter waved toward me saying, 'Bye Daddy',' he said.
Haunted memories and excitement have caused sleepless nights for many elderly Koreans as the two Koreas prepare for brief reunions of long-lost relatives separated since the 1950-1953 Korean War.
Shin is one of about 100 people from each country who will meet briefly with relatives living on the other side in reunion programmes scheduled from September 26 to October 1 at the North's scenic Mount Kumgang near the border.
The humanitarian programme had been suspended for two years as ties between Pyongyang and Seoul's conservative government grew frostier. The communist state has agreed to resume them as part of a series of recent peace overtures.
During the war, Shin alone took a boat across the Yesong River in the North's western province of Hwanghae to flee advancing Chinese and North Korean troops, leaving his wife and three children.
'Since then, I have always been haunted by the guilt feeling that I failed to carry out my duty as a father and a husband. I can't imagine how my children could grow up without their father around,' he said.
One of the three children, the second daughter, is not coming to the reunion and he is worried about her. 'I wonder whether she is too ill to come or she is already dead,' he said.
'When I meet my daughters, I will hug them hard,' he added.
Shin later married a South Korean woman in the South and fathered four children.
Some others will reunite with their wives during the short reunions.
Suk Chan-Ik, 89, will see his North Korean wife who has remained faithful to him since they were separated in 1948.
'I feel deeply guilty before her as she has never married for a second time. I cannot image her hardships she suffered in raising my two children,' Suk was quoted as telling the Dong-A daily.
Suk left his hometown in Unyul County in the North's Hwanghae province in 1948 to earn money in South Korea when his wife was 21. But he married a South Korean woman who gave him four children.
Lee Seung-Doo, 82, was informed that his wife was already dead and he will only see his daughter, now 61.
'I really wanted to meet my wife and beg her pardon for leaving them for so long,' Lee said, holding back tears.
He hurriedly left his hometown in Suan County in Hwanghae province to avoid conscription to the North Korean army in 1951 at the height of the Korean War.
'I didn't know our separation would be prolonged so long,' he told the Dong-A.
'National holidays and birthdays of my wife and children always tortured me with memories about them. I had to find a lonely place to hide my sorrow,' he said. [rc]
Copyright ©2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd.
September 19, 2009
KOREA: Reunions with long-lost relatives bring sleepless nights
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SEOUL, South Korea / AsiaOne.com / AFP / September 19, 2009
The two Koreas prepare for brief reunions of long-lost relatives separated since the Korean War
Nearly 60 years after he escaped from advancing Chinese and North Korean troops, Shin Kang-Sun is overcome with emotion as he prepares to reunite with the daughters he left behind during the Korean War.
Shin, 92, said Friday he had spent many sleepless nights after his request was accepted to see the three daughters he left as small children in the North in early 1951.
File photo: instablogs.com
'I'm so overwhelmed by emotions. I'm going to see my daughters for the first time in almost 60 years,' Shin told AFP.
'I still vividly remember the day as if it were yesterday when my five-year-old first daughter waved toward me saying, 'Bye Daddy',' he said.
Haunted memories and excitement have caused sleepless nights for many elderly Koreans as the two Koreas prepare for brief reunions of long-lost relatives separated since the 1950-1953 Korean War.
Shin is one of about 100 people from each country who will meet briefly with relatives living on the other side in reunion programmes scheduled from September 26 to October 1 at the North's scenic Mount Kumgang near the border.
The humanitarian programme had been suspended for two years as ties between Pyongyang and Seoul's conservative government grew frostier. The communist state has agreed to resume them as part of a series of recent peace overtures.
During the war, Shin alone took a boat across the Yesong River in the North's western province of Hwanghae to flee advancing Chinese and North Korean troops, leaving his wife and three children.
'Since then, I have always been haunted by the guilt feeling that I failed to carry out my duty as a father and a husband. I can't imagine how my children could grow up without their father around,' he said.
One of the three children, the second daughter, is not coming to the reunion and he is worried about her. 'I wonder whether she is too ill to come or she is already dead,' he said.
'When I meet my daughters, I will hug them hard,' he added.
Shin later married a South Korean woman in the South and fathered four children.
Some others will reunite with their wives during the short reunions.
Suk Chan-Ik, 89, will see his North Korean wife who has remained faithful to him since they were separated in 1948.
'I feel deeply guilty before her as she has never married for a second time. I cannot image her hardships she suffered in raising my two children,' Suk was quoted as telling the Dong-A daily.
Suk left his hometown in Unyul County in the North's Hwanghae province in 1948 to earn money in South Korea when his wife was 21. But he married a South Korean woman who gave him four children.
Lee Seung-Doo, 82, was informed that his wife was already dead and he will only see his daughter, now 61.
'I really wanted to meet my wife and beg her pardon for leaving them for so long,' Lee said, holding back tears.
He hurriedly left his hometown in Suan County in Hwanghae province to avoid conscription to the North Korean army in 1951 at the height of the Korean War.
'I didn't know our separation would be prolonged so long,' he told the Dong-A.
'National holidays and birthdays of my wife and children always tortured me with memories about them. I had to find a lonely place to hide my sorrow,' he said. [rc]
Copyright ©2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd.
Nearly 60 years after he escaped from advancing Chinese and North Korean troops, Shin Kang-Sun is overcome with emotion as he prepares to reunite with the daughters he left behind during the Korean War.
Shin, 92, said Friday he had spent many sleepless nights after his request was accepted to see the three daughters he left as small children in the North in early 1951.
File photo: instablogs.com
'I'm so overwhelmed by emotions. I'm going to see my daughters for the first time in almost 60 years,' Shin told AFP.
'I still vividly remember the day as if it were yesterday when my five-year-old first daughter waved toward me saying, 'Bye Daddy',' he said.
Haunted memories and excitement have caused sleepless nights for many elderly Koreans as the two Koreas prepare for brief reunions of long-lost relatives separated since the 1950-1953 Korean War.
Shin is one of about 100 people from each country who will meet briefly with relatives living on the other side in reunion programmes scheduled from September 26 to October 1 at the North's scenic Mount Kumgang near the border.
The humanitarian programme had been suspended for two years as ties between Pyongyang and Seoul's conservative government grew frostier. The communist state has agreed to resume them as part of a series of recent peace overtures.
During the war, Shin alone took a boat across the Yesong River in the North's western province of Hwanghae to flee advancing Chinese and North Korean troops, leaving his wife and three children.
'Since then, I have always been haunted by the guilt feeling that I failed to carry out my duty as a father and a husband. I can't imagine how my children could grow up without their father around,' he said.
One of the three children, the second daughter, is not coming to the reunion and he is worried about her. 'I wonder whether she is too ill to come or she is already dead,' he said.
'When I meet my daughters, I will hug them hard,' he added.
Shin later married a South Korean woman in the South and fathered four children.
Some others will reunite with their wives during the short reunions.
Suk Chan-Ik, 89, will see his North Korean wife who has remained faithful to him since they were separated in 1948.
'I feel deeply guilty before her as she has never married for a second time. I cannot image her hardships she suffered in raising my two children,' Suk was quoted as telling the Dong-A daily.
Suk left his hometown in Unyul County in the North's Hwanghae province in 1948 to earn money in South Korea when his wife was 21. But he married a South Korean woman who gave him four children.
Lee Seung-Doo, 82, was informed that his wife was already dead and he will only see his daughter, now 61.
'I really wanted to meet my wife and beg her pardon for leaving them for so long,' Lee said, holding back tears.
He hurriedly left his hometown in Suan County in Hwanghae province to avoid conscription to the North Korean army in 1951 at the height of the Korean War.
'I didn't know our separation would be prolonged so long,' he told the Dong-A.
'National holidays and birthdays of my wife and children always tortured me with memories about them. I had to find a lonely place to hide my sorrow,' he said. [rc]
Copyright ©2007 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd.
