SEOUL Scenes of tearful reunions, unfolding in both capitals of South and North Korea, riveted the eyes of the entire nation onto television screens Aug. 15, creating unforgettable moments for long-lost family members and bringing the divided Koreas one step closer to rapprochement.
An overflow of tears and screams of joy and agony filled the 3rd floor of the Convention & Exhibition Center (COEX) in southern Seoul from 4:30 p.m. where the 100 North Koreans were arranged to meet their South Korean kin for the first time since the 1950-53 Korean War.
"Father, can you recognize me. I am Jae-hyok," Lim Jae-hyok, a 66-year-old North Korean man said, bursting into tears upon meeting his South Korean father and other family members. However, his 90-year-old father remained silent, as he has been suffering from Alzheimer s Disease.
"How about my mother," Lim asked.
"She died 15 years ago. She always talked about you," his 71-year-old brother replied.
Seoul organizers of the family reunion prepared 100 white cloth-covered tables in the centers large convention hall to provide for more private space to the visitors and their family members. As only five South Korean relatives of each North Korean visitor were allowed to enter the place, others were forced to wait outside the hotel to catch a glimpse of their North Korean kin.
A similar scene was also aired from Pyongyang, with 100 South Koreans reuniting with their North Korean relatives at Koryo Hotel where the visitors will stay for four days before returning to Seoul on Aug. 18.
As soon as Choi Tae-hyon, 70, met his North Korean wife, he presented her a gold ring, which was prepared by his South Korean wife. The man left North Korea in the chaos of the Korean War, leaving behind his wife and a three-year-old son. "I feel very sorry to my North Korean wife who must have led a hard life there, while I am thankful to my South Korean wife who understands my situation and supports me all the time," he told reporters.
Upon arrival at Kimpo Airport, Ryu Mi-yong, head of the North Korean visitors group, said, "Our delegation will make utmost efforts to turn this exchange project, which was made possible after a long hiatus, into a great opportunity for national unity and unification."
Ryu, leader of the Norths Chondoist Chongu Party, was, in fact, a South Korean who defected to North Korea in 1986 with her husband Choe Duck-shin, who had been a South Korean foreign minister under former president Park Chung-hee.
North Korea selected its own list of visitors on the basis of their social status, while South Korea gave priorities to those with direct family relations in North Korea.
Kim Ok-bae, a 62-year-old dancer and first female Ph.D. in North Korea, told reporters, "I am so impressed, as I return in 50 years."
With ceremonies marking the National Liberation Day underway across the nation, the 151-member North Korean delegation first arrived at the airport at around 11 a.m. aboard the Air Koryo s Il-62M jet, which later carried the same number of South Koreans to Pyongyang.
The 20-member team of North Korean reporters and camera crew first emerged, rather symbolically, from a bridge connecting the Russian jet to the terminal, followed by chief delegate Ryu and support personnel and finally 100 North Korean visitors in their advanced age.
In fact, it was the first North Korean plane to land in South Korea in the history of national division spanning half a century, thus opening an era of a two-way direct flight between the two Koreas. So far, a majority of inter-Korean travels took place via China because of decades-long confrontation between the two rival states on the peninsula.
The exchange of 100 separated family members each, from the two Koreas, has been regarded as a test case for a package of other ambitious inter-Korean initiatives agreed upon during the historic June 13-15 summit between President Kim Dae-jung and National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il.
With the dreams of a chosen few separated families becoming a reality, more Koreans have become confident on the newborn chance for inter-Korean reconciliation.
It was the first government-sponsored family reunion since 1985 when 50 people each from the two Koreas were allowed to cross the border to meet their relatives.
The days event started at 9:30 a.m. with a convoy of 10 buses and support vehicles leaving the Sheraton Walker Hill Hotel towards the Kimpo International Airport to transport 100 South Koreans set to travel to Pyongyang.
The North Korean plane, carrying the South Koreans and 7 tons of cargo, arrived in the Sunan Airport at the outskirts of Pyongyang at 2 p.m., while family reunions took place from 5 p.m. at Koryo Hotel.
Aug. 16, the separated family members will be allowed to hold individual meetings inside the guest rooms of the Sheraton Walker Hill Hotel in Seoul and Koryo Hotel in Pyongyang.
North Koreans are scheduled to visit Lotte World Folk Village in southern Seoul, while South Koreans are set to visit the tomb of Tangun, the founder of the Korean nation.