Gyeongju Lee moved to South Korea by himself as a refugee in December 1950 to flee the Korean War. He believed he would be able to return to his hometown in a week's time. It never occurred to him at that time that it would be the very last time he would see his mother and sisters in North Korea.
67 years have gone by and he still cannot go back to his hometown. Now that his mother and sisters have passed away, he is slowly losing hope of visiting his hometown alive.
He met his nephew and niece in the 19th separated family reunion in 2014. He heard how his mother and sisters had lived and was told that his mother's grave was well furnished. He wanted to visit her grave straight away, but could not do anything but feel frustrated about not being able to go there.
He has a faded photo of his mother and sisters and it is the only memento of them he has. Whenever he sees the photo, his childhood memories come back to him. When he was forming his dream to become a novelist, he would secretly stay up all night to read novels without telling his mother. His younger sister would save steamed bread for him. His mother would occasionally scold him with a cane. He can never forget these memories of his young years.
His hometown holds a special place in his heart as his mother does. Now he does not have any family who would welcome him there, but he desperately hopes to see reunification so he can visit his hometown in North Korea.
(03171) 서울특별시 종로구 세종대로 209 정부서울청사 통일부 이산가족과 Tel : 02-2100-5896 / Fax : 02-2100-5919
(04629) 서울특별시 중구 소파로 145(남산동 3가) 대한적십자사 남북교류팀 Tel : 02-3705-3652 / Fax : 02-3705-3646
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