『He Is Alive』Talking with abductees' families
(No. 5) Feb. 25,1952, Hosted by Dong-A Daily

"Sold everything to survive" No mental support, let alone material assistance

Moderator: Like you, I, too, believe that they are alive. The next question is for the wife of Mr. Hyeon Sang-yun, Dean of Korea University. After Mr. Hyeon was abducted, how did you make a living for the family?

Mrs. Hyeon (Baek Suk-ryang):I sold clothes and furniture door to door. That's how I made ends meet, eating porridge instead of steamed rice for every other meal.

Mrs. Gang (Park Ok-chul): I earn a living by selling household goods.

Mrs. Park (Kim Yeong-ae): I’ve earned a living for five children since my husband’s abduction. As he was Chairman of Korea Southern Power Corporation, the company helped us out. And, fortunately, what I earn and what my daughter makes from tutoring are enough for thesix of us to get by.

Mrs. Yang (Yang Me-rin): I am too old to work. I've been living on financial support from the church.

Mrs. Son (YeonKyeong-hwa):For a month after his abduction I was completely lost. I had six children to take care of but no inheritance and no skills. I tried desperately to find a job. I worked in many different places, including a market and a US Army base, but I could not earn enough to make a living for my family. At that time three of my children were in middle school and two in elementary school. It was almost impossible to support their education on what I earned. So I got help from my relatives, and from a publishing company, too. As the saying goes, "Poverty cannot be eradicated by a government,” so I have been trying my best to make a living off my own bat.

Mrs. Gu (Park In-suk): The only way to earn a living was by selling the house. My family is living hand to mouth off the money I made from it.

Mrs. An (Kim Bu-rye): For a while my family lived on my husband's salary from the National Assembly. Now, we are living with my parents in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province.

Mrs. Park (Yu Song-juk): I had to take care of a family of eight: my grandmother, my mother-in-law, my eldest son and daughter who were in elementary school, my second daughter who was six years old, my youngest daughter who was three, and a 14-year-old girl from my hometown. I had no skills and no idea how to make a living. I was devastated and in despair. I started to trade household goods for food. I walked 15 to 20km with some women from the neighborhood, taking things like a mosquito net, a table, and bowls to exchange for corn. From September 20 I heard good news that Seoul would be liberated soon. From around that time, the women in the neighborhood started to dissuade me from bartering. They took me in when I went out the door to go barter, saying that we should be careful not to be noticed, especially for the last few days before the liberation. For my family,which had little food, someone gave me a pot filled with rice across the fence. Overwhelmed by their generosity, I got a lump in my throat and couldn't speak. I boiled the rice to make porridge so that the children could eat rice while us adults ate watery soup.

Mrs. Lee (Lee Dal-nam): There was no way to make a living. The lives of my family of seven have always been in the hands of God.

Moderator: All Koreans are suffering, but the suffering of the families of soldiers and police killed during the war and the hundreds of thousands of abductees' families like you is beyond our imaginations. Announcements are made almost every day that some have been rescued thanks to the efforts of social organizations or the government, and fundraising has been going on continuously. Mrs. Park, given these efforts in our society, have you ever received relief from the government or social organizations?

Mrs. Park (Yu Song-juk): Yes, one time. On November 3 of the year before last, the Vice-Minister in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry delivered an envelope. In the envelope there was 10,000 won in cash.

Mrs. Park (Kim Yeong-ae): Well, actually, this is the question that I would like to ask the government and social organizations.

Mrs. Hyeon (Baek Suk-ryang): Society is indifferent to our suffering. I, too, have never received any relief from the government or social organizations.

Mrs. An (Kim Bu-rye): Me, neither.

Mrs. Gang (Park Ok-chul): Me, neither. Nothing.

Mrs. Yang (Yang Me-rin): I've never received anything from the government, but I've gotten relief from a religious organization.

Mrs. Gu (Park In-suk): I received no aid. Actually I didn’t know there was such a thing.

Mrs. Lee (Lee Dal-nam): I haven't received any relief from social organizations, but my husband's friends have shown enough generosity to keep my family safe and sound.

Mrs. Son (YeonKyeong-hwa): There are many social organizations in Korea, and relief goods are coming in bulk from outside the country. But I think there is little chance that abductees' families like us will get help. I know how things are because I've been working for the Association of Families of Persons Kidnapped at the Time of June 25th Incident (KWAFA). Whenever I meet "grass widows” they cry, not even able to talk. They are the wives of public servants, university professors and heads of young men’s associations, people who devoted themselves to the country. Considering their social status, it is very difficult for the wives to ask for help and sympathy from others. They probably do not want to turn down generosity from others, but feel forced to do so. The government did not console them by offering moral support, let alone material assistance. It even reproaches abductees for not fleeing to the south across the Han River and collaborating with the North Korean government. Whenever I hear these unfair accusations, I feel like my heart has stopped beating.