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| ▲ This image shows ribbons bearing separated families' messages toward their relatives in the North, during an exhibition at the Seoul Museum of History on Sept. 12, 2024. (Yonhap) |
Koreas-separated families
76 pct of S. Koreans with separated families in N. Korea remain in the dark about relatives' fates: poll
SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Yonhap) -- Nearly 76 percent of South Koreans who registered with the government having separated families in North Korea remain in the dark about whether their relatives in the North are alive, a recent survey showed Friday.
In the survey conducted last year by the unification ministry, 75.5 percent of the 5,103 South Koreans polled, who had registered having separated families in the North, responded that they were unable to confirm whether their relatives across the border were alive.
Only 20.9 percent of those who confirmed the fates of their separated families said they had reunion meetings, phone calls or exchanged letters with relatives in the North. When applied to the whole population of separated families in South Korea, this means only 5 percent have succeeded in contacting their families in North Korea.
Of those who had contact, 57.4 percent said they did so through official channels organized by the government, while 46.7 percent cited privately arranged opportunities. Respondents were allowed to select more than one answer.
Nearly 48 percent of those who were unable to locate their families in the North said that they no long intended to pursue contact, with most assuming that relatives in the North may have already died of old age.
Asked to select the most necessary measure for separated families, the largest group, 77.2 percent, chose the adoption of a system to confirm the fates of all separated families in North Korea and notify their relatives in the South in the event of their deaths.
Over 37 percent advocated for regular family reunions, while 18 percent called for a letter exchange system between families separated in the North and South. Respondents were allowed to pick more than one answer.
Many families were separated by the 1950-53 Korean War and the subsequent division of the Korean Peninsula, with most unable to reunite as the two Koreas technically remain at war without a peace treaty.
South Korea has around 40,000 registered separated families now, while many others have died due to old age waiting for news of their relatives in the North.
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