Hwang Woo Seok (88, pictured above) was separated from his three-year-old daughter during the Korean War. Some 68 years later, he has been selected as a participant in the separated family reunions on August 20 at Mt Kumgang, where he will meet his daughter who lives in North Korea, Hwang Yong Suk (71).
Decades have passed, but Hwang’s yearning to see his daughter has remained constant. He feels sorry for not having been by his daughter’s side as a father, but is also looking forward to the meeting in just five days.
“I am really sorry [to my daughter],” he recently told a Ministry of Unification joint interview team. “She must have suffered a lot and led a difficult life.” He feels sad when he thinks about the fact that she had to celebrate family events without any close relatives.
When asked by the interviewers what the first thing he would like to say to his daughter was, he replied, “I would tell her that I am thankful she has lived this long and that we can meet,” and that, “I am grateful that she is alive so we can hold this reunion and that despite having a hard life that I am happy she is still alive and can see me.”
Reflecting on the tragedy of the division of the two Koreas, Hwang added that, “The reunion between father and daughter is like something that you read about in a novel. I don’t think this could happen in any country other than Korea.” Hwang expressed hope that unification would happen soon so people could travel freely across the border and exchange letters and phone calls.
Hwang is happy that he has been selected to participate in the reunions after 30 years to meet his own flesh and blood, but is also sad that he couldn’t have been selected sooner. “If I was selected 10 years ago then I could have met all my younger sisters,” and that, “There was a younger sister who died in 2016. If she was still alive she would be 80 years old, but she died two years ago,” he said.
According to official records from North Korea, Hwang has three younger sisters who have now passed away. The second oldest of the sisters died just two years ago in 2016 and the third oldest died at the end of 2015.
He also had some unexpected but welcome news. His daughter’s daughter, Go Okhwa (39), will be accompanying her mother at the reunion.
Hwang seems to be thinking hard about what kind of present he will give his daughter. “I planned to give her a ring or two and slip them on her fingers, but I found out that anything made of gold or silver is not allowed when visiting North Korea.” Instead, he is thinking of giving her a winding watch that is, “less than 100,000 won and not electronic.”
When asked if there was anything else he wanted to say, Hwang replied, “I want to thank those working at the Ministry of Unification and Red Cross for making it possible for the reunions to take place.”
