ⓒ KBS News

A fresh round of reunions of family members separated by the Korean War will take place at North Korea’s Mt. Geumgang from August 20 to 26. Many separated family members from South and North Korea will probably be overwhelmed by emotions during the inter-Korean family reunion program. The last such program was held about three years ago. Aside from the dramatic face-to-face reunions, split family members have been reunited with each other through letters. Today, we’ll talk about letter exchanges between separated family members in 2001. 

In the June 15 South-North Joint Declaration adopted at the first inter-Korean summit in 2000, the leaders of the two Koreas agreed to make efforts to resolve the separated families’ issue. In line with the agreement, reunions of separated families took place on August 15, 2000, for the first time in 15 years. In September that year, the two Koreas began to confirm the life status and addresses of separated family members scattered throughout the Korean Peninsula. Among them, those who were confirmed alive would be allowed to exchange letters with their long-lost kin on the other side of the border. Letter exchanges between the South and the North were the first such event in half a century. Let’s hear from Choi Eun-beom, former South Korean representative of inter-Korean Red Cross talks and now adviser of the Korean Assembly for the Reunion of Ten-Million Separated Families. 

In 1945, authorities of the Soviet Union, which occupied North Korea, prohibited the North from receiving mail from South Korea for political reasons. Later, an agreement at the Joint Soviet-American Commission allowed South and North Korea to exchange letters and parcels. Mostly, mail was sent to North Korea, while South Korea received about 10-thousand letters, as far as I remember. I came to South Korea in 1948, before the Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950. I found that my father in North Korea had sent me a postcard before June 20. Reading the postcard, I learned my parents were doing well there. In fact, June 22 was the last day when North Korea sent mail to the South. The postcard turned out to be the last mail I received from my parents in the North. 

As Mr. Choi recalled, mail exchanges between South and North Korea were banned after Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945. Following an agreement at the Joint Soviet-American Commission, inter-Korean mail exchanges resumed on March 13, 1946. But the exchanges were suspended again, with the last ones occurring on June 22, 1950, just before the outbreak of the Korean War. Mr. Choi, who had been treasuring his father’s letter from North Korea, heard a piece of good news in January 2001. 

At the inter-Korean Red Cross talks on January 29, South and North Korea agreed to allow 300 separated family members from each side to exchange letters on March 15. The fortunate members who were selected for the program gladly wrote letters. The letters were filled with various emotional stories that the family members wanted to share, but they were not allowed to reference anything political. 

At the time, the South and North agreed that the letters should be written in a particular form. The letters should be limited to a certain number of words and only include family-related stories, not political ones. For example, “My father has died. My brother got married and his wife was from a family like this… My nephew was born.” Talking only about family affairs would place no political or security burden on either side and would mean the letters would be free from regime propaganda. 

Choi began to work for the National Red Cross in 1959. He says that internationally, letter exchanges between separated families should be carried out in due form, in which political elements with propaganda purposes should be eliminated and only family-related stories should be included. In the letters, the split family members, who had desperately been waiting for reunions from the day they parted with their loved ones, expressed their sorrow of the 50-year-long separation and their deep love for their lost family members. 

Letters containing emotional and touching stories arrived in South Korea’s Red Cross one after another. On March 15, the letters were, for the first time since the Korean War, exchanged between 300 divided family members from each side through liaison officials at the border village of Panmunjom. On the same day, the National Red Cross in South Korea was bustling with separated family members who would receive letters from their lost kin in North Korea. The letters would be delivered to their homes the next day by registered mail, but they couldn’t wait for that, although they had waited for the moment for 50 years, and came to pick up the letters themselves. A thousand emotions went through Mr. Choi when looking at the scene. 

My parents had 12 children and I was the 11^th child and the youngest son in the family. I had three older sisters. Of course I hoped to find my lost siblings in North Korea. But those who worked for the National Red Cross were not supposed to apply for the family reunion program before other separated family members. It was a strict work ethic. As an employee of the Red Cross, I faithfully followed the rule and chose not to participate in the program. 

Mr. Choi, now 84 years old, still clearly remembers the full address, including the street address, of his North Korean home in North Hamgyeong Province. He came to South Korea when he was 15, but some of his family members were left behind in North Korea. By 2001, his parents and older sisters had probably passed away, given their old age. But he still wanted to say hello to his nephews or nieces in North Korea, though only through a letter. However, he didn’t apply for the letter exchange program since his job was to help the reunions of other separated family members. He only cherished hope that he would be able to freely exchange letters with his relatives in North Korea soon. Unfortunately, the letter exchanges in 2001 ended up being a one-time event. The program has been suspended to this day, although face-to-face reunions have been held 20 times since 2000. 

First, it is necessary to confirm whether the separated family members are dead or alive, and if they are confirmed alive, their addresses should be figured out. Then, they could be allowed to exchange letters with their relatives on the other side of the border to catch up on each other’s news. And then they may visit their hometowns or meet with their loved ones. The 20 rounds of face-to-face reunions for the last 18 years, including the ones at Mt. Geumgang, were considered to be the fourth and last stage. What I mean is that face-to-face reunions are not enough. At least those who participated in the reunion program at Mt. Geumgang should be allowed to exchange letters with their family members. I believe it will guarantee basic human rights, the dignity of man and brotherly love, and serve as the first step toward unification.