Korea, families still broken by the partition of the country

Waiting, a family shattered by the partition of the country © Futuropolis / Keum Suk Gendry-Kim / 2021

By: Emmanuelle Bastide

11 mins

In 1953, millions of Koreans were separated from their relatives and families by a conflict that led to an airtight division of the Korean Peninsula.

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Since then, a program of family reunions has been set up by the two camps.

Thousands of reunions between South Koreans and North Koreans have been organized since 1985, as bilateral relations improve.

You still have to be selected by a computer lottery system to find a sister, a cousin or an uncle.

Many Koreans have not yet had the chance to see theirs again and 68 years after the armistice, some will never have the chance.

Overwhelming, full of emotions, these reunions also have a taste of bitterness for those who have lived apart for decades and no longer have any common memories.

How to build yourself when you are separated from your family?

How to live in expectation and keep the memory of loved ones?  

With

:

Keum Suk Gendry-Kim

, designer and translator.

Author of 

L'attente - a family broken by the partition of the country

(Futuropolis).

A report by 

Nicolas Rocca

, our correspondent in Seoul, South Korea.

He was able to meet, Lee Su Nam.

This octogenarian lived for decades, separated from his brother, who remained on the other side of the border in North Korea.

He was able to find him in 2018, 68 years after their separation on the occasion of the 21st ceremony bringing together families on both sides of the border.

Nicolas Rocca's report on Lee Su Nam

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