For the first time in nearly two years, South and North Korean families are allowed to meet with each other for a few short days. Since the end of the Korean war in 1953, no telephone, mail, or e-mail exchanges exist between the South and North Koreans, so many Koreans are separated from their families by the political borders. However, in the year 2000, reunions started taking place after an inter-Korean summit and have been off and on ever since. The last reunion happened in 2007, before North Korea halted the reunions (due to political tensions).
In South Korea, those who participate are selected randomly from a pool of about 10,000 applicants, and only 200 slots were available this time. There is no future date scheduled for another reunion, so for many who are elderly, they may never get a chance to meet their families across the border.
Read more here and here.
Posted by: Jessica Bilstein
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