44 photos of emotional Korean family reunions will melt your heart
After Korea was divided into two countries, families that lived in opposite regions from each other were separated — mothers from their children, brothers from sisters.
To this day, many families do not know what happened to their relatives on the other side of the border.
Source: History Channel
But in 1985, the first Korean family reunion was held, and almost 150 Koreans got to see their separated family members for the first time in over 30 years.
Source: History Channel
It would take 15 more years for another reunion to be held.
Years went by, with many Koreans passing away and their hopes of seeing their separated loved ones dashed.
Source: History Channel
But in 2000, both Koreas agreed to make the reunions a more regular annual event.
Source: History Channel
And an estimated 21,000 Koreans have been reunited with their family members during those meetings.
Source: History Channel
For South Koreans, to be chosen to take part in a reunion, you must enter a lottery, which is based based partly on age and how close the family ties are.
Source: History Channel, CNN
For North Koreans, however, less is known about how the government chooses which citizens are awarded reunions.
Source: History Channel
Almost 200 Korean families attended the most recent reunions in August, embracing and visiting with loved ones that they haven't seen in more than 60 years.
Source: Reuters
That's a fraction of the 57,000 South Koreans who registered for this round of reunions but were not chosen to participate.
Source: CNN
Not to mention the thousands of others who have died before being considered as reunion candidates.
Before meeting, South Koreans were debriefed on rules set by North Korea and were told to avoid saying anything that could be interpreted as offensive or insensitive to the North.
Source: CNN
Some entered the reunions in wheelchairs.
During the reunions, families congregated in a large conference room at the Diamond Mountain Resort in North Korea...
Source: Associated Press
Lee Geum-seom, 92, of South Korea, got to hug her son Ri Sang-chol, a 71-year-old North Korean, for the first time in more than 60 years.
... reminisced with him about family members who could not make it to the reunion...
Source: New York Times
... and asked her son countless questions, including, “How many children do you have?” and “Do you have a son?”
Source: New York Times
Relatives brought each other gifts in the forms of clothes, medicine, toiletries, and food.
Source: Reuters
Anything more luxurious would not make it past a checkpoint and would be confiscated by security.
Source: Reuters
Many Koreans also brought photographs of decades past to reminisce...
...but also to help them recognize their family members, since it had been decades since they last saw each other.
They brought updated family snapshots and memories made since they'd been divided.
And took some new portraits together.
Not to mention some selfies. Many attendees documented the time spent together ...
... as they knew it would likely be their only meeting.
Survivors say, though they are happy to see their families again, the reunions can be traumatizing...
Source: Reuters
According to a survey by the Red Cross, more than 25% of previous reunion participants faced depression and found it difficult to continue their daily lives afterward.
Source: CNN
It's especially troubling when it's time to say goodbye.
Like many others, Lee cried as she waved her final goodbye through the bus window to her son.
Many elderly relatives took the goodbyes especially hard.
...and since so many other families are waiting to be reunited...
As a supplement to the sporadic reunions, South Korea has also been pushing for more video conferences between separated relatives.
Source: Business Insider
But rocky ties with its northern neighbor often gets in the way of the program.
Source: Business Insider
For every year that goes by, an estimated 4,000 Koreans on the waiting list die without having the chance to attend a reunion.
Source: History Channel
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