Suyoung Park
Saint James School
9th grade
21 April 2014
Scars in Their Hearts: Division of Families in South and North Korea
Today, Korea is divided into South and North Korea. Politicians in both North and South
Korea argue and threaten to fight each other every day even though people in these countries
were in the same ethnic groups about 60 years ago. Most people in both South and North Korea
spend days busy with their own lives and forget about the significance of the reunification and
that they are under suspension of fire. However, there are some people who cannot forget the
Korean War and who wish for the reunification. They are separated families from North and
South Korea, and my family is among the separated families. To separated families, this division
is always the scar in their heart. My grandmother often tells me the story about the Korean War
and pains of separating families. She and her sister separated because when they promised to
meet at Daegu, a city in South Korea, the USA and the Soviet Union divided Korea into two
parts and did not allow people to pass that division line. This forced her sister to be left in North
Korea and my grandmother to stay in South Korea. My grandmother registers for exchange
visits of separated families every time, but there are many people who register for it and not
many meetings form. So, she has not met her sister since the end of the Korean War, but she
loves her sister and believes she is still alive. In addition, my grandmother and my family
always pray for unification of South and North Korea.
Park 1 For unification of North and South Korea to be accomplished, all of the Koreans should
not forget about the separated families, the importance of division, and reunification of South
and North Korea. There are economic, political, and cultural ways to help to unify. First, both
the North and South Korean governments can invest in tourist businesses. Second, they can
improve their diplomatic relationships by communications. Third, the South Korean government
should introduce the culture, economy, or society of North Korea on the media or in the
textbooks because lots of things might have changed during the 60 years. If South Koreans do
not understand and learn, unifying cannot be a success. I understand Koreans might undergo
trial and error to achieve these things. However, if these things come true, there will be no
people who would be separated from their families or friends.
South and North Korea are not only close but also far from each other. Koreans need to
feel lonely and forlorn about the existence of the 38th parallel, the line between South and North
Korea. If people in North and South Korea strive to achieve investment in tourism, development
of diplomatic relationships, and education about each other little by little for reunification of
South and North Korea, the dreams can come true. I hope I can hold the hands of students in North Korea one day