Ryang Cha Ok (left), the 82-year-old big sister from the North, bursts into tears with her 79-year-old little sister from the South, Yang Gye-ok, in her arms during the first meeting of the second round of the 21st series of inter-Korean family reunions held at the reception house at Geumgangsan Mountain in the North on Aug. 24. (Yonhap News)
By
Lee Kyoung Mi and
Kim Young Shin The second round of the 21st series of inter-Korean family reunions began with a group meeting at the reception house at Geumgangsan Mountain in the North on Aug. 24. The families will be able to meet each other six times for a total of 12 hours during the three-day reunion before they have to return home.
During the first round of the reunions, held from Aug. 20 to 22, 89 people from the South were able to meet their family members in the North. In the second round, 81 North Koreans will get to see their family members living south of the border.
The family members from the South left Sokcho, Gangwon-do Province, to the meeting venue at Geumgangsan Mountain in the morning. They arrived 40 minutes later than scheduled due to heavy rain. Although Typhoon Soulik hit the Korean Peninsula with strong winds and heavy rain, it wasn’t able to stop the families from meeting each other.
After lunch, the first group meeting began and the reception house quickly became the place of tears and sighs. The families, torn apart for more than six decades by the ceasefire line after the Korean War (1950-1953), cried and hugged each other.
Cho Jeong-gi, 67 years old, ran into his father’s arms when his long-waiting parent, 88-year-old Dok Yong, came into sight.
“I didn’t even dream of you being alive,” said the son with burning tears running down his face.
South Korean niece Son Bo-gyeong, 54-years-old, with her two siblings, met her aunt Mun Song Ok, 75, from the North. They offered a deep bow to their aunt who looked just like their late mother who passed away five years ago without getting to see her sister in the North ever again.
The reunited families attended a welcome dinner after the two hours of the first group meeting. On the second day Aug. 25, they will have private meetings in their rooms over lunch and then the second group meeting. On the last day Aug. 26, they will meet for the last time with a group lunch.
A total of 170 people from both South and North met their beloved family members living on the other side of the inter-Korean border during the 21st series of family reunions. There are still about 56,000 people alive who never got to meet their family members on the other side of the Korean Peninsula. Many are living with the scars from the division of the country.
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