Please find my husband, and my son
Tearful requests of families
Protest for repatriation held at Deoksu Palace
P.2, Chosun Daily, Aug. 14, 1953

Three years have passed since patriots and communist rebels dragged innocent South Korean civilians from their homes during the Korean War. “In which prison cell is my husband?”, “Under which lonely mountain's dewy grass is my son buried?”, “Please find my husband and my son!”
During the protest for the repatriation of Korean War abductees, wives young and old cried out these heart-wrenching words and pounded the ground with their fists.
At 10 a.m. on the 12th, hundreds of abductees' families gathered on the back lawn of Deoksu Palace. The protest began with a tearful opening speech by Kim Jong-gil, whose husband and two sons have been abducted. After the pledge of allegiance, Jung Bok-hee, the wife of Dr. Han Chi-jin, cried out a prayer. Dr. Han, who was well known for his democratic commentaries on the radio prior to the Korean War, has also been abducted. Jung shouted out, "God, please look upon us all. We are living day and night in tears with the loss of our loving husbands and sons. Please have mercy and send them back to us." As the prayer ended, people were crying everywhere and a heavy sadness settled over the venue. Next there was a report on efforts made to bring back the abductees since the Retreat on January 4. Then, Park Bong-gil read out a message sent to the Prisoners of War Exchange Headquarters, the essence of which was the "unconditional repatriation of the abductees."
Then, an encouraging lecture on the repatriation of abductees was given by Chosun Daily’s Chief Editor, Sung. During the debate, attendees decided to send pamphlets to countries around the world in order to arouse public opinion, and to raise the 150,000 Hwan needed to print and send them. The protest ended at 12:30 p.m. in a grand, yet solemn, tone. One interesting aspect of the protest was the presence of a female reporter from AP in the U.S., who had come to report the stories of abductees’ families. KWAFA’s office will be established on the first floor of the Chosun Daily building to raise funds and facilitate communication between members.