When asked to present an artifact that best represented home, Elder K07 reached for the framed photo of her late husband, which was taken before the war. They were in love and happily married.
“His life was short but significant. As the eldest son, he had a big house and was very well treated. I used to wonder whether I deserved to be that happy and if I could continue being that happy. In the end, the happiness was short-lived. I crossed the 38th parallel carrying my three-year-old son on my back.”
Her husband had left for South Korea ahead of the family. Elder K07 recounted how she miraculously found him after arriving in South Korea herself. When she told a woman she was from North Korea and searching for him, the woman recognized the story and believed her brother’s friend was the missing husband. She helped Elder K07 located him.
“At the dining table, he put his son on his knees and fed him rice and banchan and told me since we are away from home, I don’t have to prepare so much banchan as I used to do back home. He probably thought he would live forever. When I told him what the communists did, he said he would take revenge. [Nine days later] he was killed at the hand of the enemies.”
“I went to find his remains where they had piled up hundreds of bodies to cremate… My brother-in-law said that we should try to find him at a hospital instead of looking for his remains because he’s probably getting treated. But there was no one with his name at the hospital. We spent two days looking for him… From then on, I begged them everyday to find his body. Six days later, they brought his ashes home. He left waving goodbye and returned as ashes.”
When asked to present an artifact that best represented home, Elder K07 reached for the framed photo of her late husband, which was taken before the war. They were in love and happily married.
“His life was short but significant. As the eldest son, he had a big house and was very well treated. I used to wonder whether I deserved to be that happy and if I could continue being that happy. In the end, the happiness was short-lived. I crossed the 38th parallel carrying my three-year-old son on my back.”
Her husband had left for South Korea ahead of the family. Elder K07 recounted how she miraculously found him after arriving in South Korea herself. When she told a woman she was from North Korea and searching for him, the woman recognized the story and believed her brother’s friend was the missing husband. She helped Elder K07 located him.
“At the dining table, he put his son on his knees and fed him rice and banchan and told me since we are away from home, I don’t have to prepare so much banchan as I used to do back home. He probably thought he would live forever. When I told him what the communists did, he said he would take revenge. [Nine days later] he was killed at the hand of the enemies.”
“I went to find his remains where they had piled up hundreds of bodies to cremate… My brother-in-law said that we should try to find him at a hospital instead of looking for his remains because he’s probably getting treated. But there was no one with his name at the hospital. We spent two days looking for him… From then on, I begged them everyday to find his body. Six days later, they brought his ashes home. He left waving goodbye and returned as ashes.”
