Families from North and South Korea wept and embraced as the neighbors held their first reunion events in three years for relatives wrenched apart by the Korean War for more than six decades. The division of the Korean peninsula is one of the last remaining relics of the Cold War. Since the end of the Korean War in 1953, there has been virtually no contact between the citizens of the two countries, including the many families who were divided during the turmoil that engulfed Korea after liberation from Japanese rule and during the three-year Korean War. Many people in both North Korea and South Korea have lost contact with the rest of their family, and are unable to communicate with them due to strict regulations across borders. In the 1980s, South Korea held special programs to reunite divided families.
Between 1910 and 1945 Korea lost sovereignty and was colonized by Japan, which caused millions of Koreans to disperse. Between 25% and 35% were separated after the liberation right before the Korean War. The vast majority of the divided families (i.e. between 65% and 75%) were separated by the start of the Korean War on and around June 25, 1950. Seoul, the capital, was taken in 3 days. Millions uprooted their homes in a matter of days and fled as refugees, to avoid the calamities of war, while others lost all communication with their relatives, due to the iron curtain that dropped upon the northern half of the peninsula, leaving them in complete darkness regarding the whereabouts and well-being of their loved ones who happened to live in the North. There were fathers and brothers who left their mothers behind, thinking they would be able to return in a few days, only to lose their relatives for a lifetime. Mothers who left their children behind, only to never be able to see them again. Children who became lost in the mad scramble of huge crowds of people flooding the paths to escape. The United Nations Command includes a provision in the armistice regarding the ‘voluntary’ repatriation of displaced persons. But after the 'armistice, the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), at the 38th parallel between North and South Korea, becomes the most heavily militarized border in the world.
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