{"id":4283,"date":"2019-07-25T10:30:13","date_gmt":"2019-07-25T01:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.01.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/?p=4283"},"modified":"2019-07-26T12:58:10","modified_gmt":"2019-07-26T03:58:10","slug":"smile-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2019\/07\/recommendations\/smile-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"Forgotten Faces: What Happened to the Thousands who Happily Set Sail for North Korea?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Of the 1,145 people who set sail for North Korea on April 28, 1961, 73 were Japanese nationals- spouses and children of the returnees. Photograph provided by Yang Young-hoo<\/p><\/div>\n

Gazing down from the deck of the ship for a picture, some can be seen to be smiling, while others appear less at ease. One\u2019s eyes are drawn to the young children and students dressed in uniform, sullen as they say farewell to their friends and family down below.<\/p>\n

The banner above the group reads, \u201cThe 56th group of returnees from Osaka to the Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea\u201d. Taken on April 28, 1961, the photograph commemorated the voyage of 1,145 people aboard a Soviet ship from the Japanese port of Niigata to North Korea.<\/p>\n

This photograph was provided by the late Yang Young-hoo, who, at the time, taught at a North Korean state-sponsored school in Osaka. He had gone to Niigata to see his pupils off.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot long after sending them to North Korea, the letters stopped coming. After that, we didn\u2019t hear any news from many of the children. I feel very guilty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Up until his death, a year ago, Mr. Yang deeply regretted sending his students to North Korea.<\/p>\n

\u25a0 Over 1 in 6 Korean-Japanese people, a total of 93,340, returned to North Korea<\/h2>\n

The first ship to return people to North Korea left Japan on December 14, 1959. Over the next 25 years, a total of 93,340 people (including some 6,800 Japanese nationals) moved to North Korea. For every 13 Korean-Japanese people, 2 set sail for the North, with many coming from Osaka and Tokyo, cities with large Korean-Japanese populations.<\/p>\n

In the 1950\u2019s, life was difficult in Japan for Korean-Japanese people as they were unable to join the national health insurance or receive a state pension and had very few employment opportunities due to discrimination. Trapped in poverty and facing such obstacles, many in the community had little hope for the future.<\/p>\n

In 1958, the Kim Il-sung regime, in cooperation with \u201cChongryon\u201d, the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, launched a massive campaign for the return of Korean-Japanese people to the North. Portrayed as a humanitarian effort, the project was supported by trade unions, municipal governments, and various Japanese political parties, ranging from the Liberal Democratic Party to the Communist Party.<\/p>\n

About 20 years ago, however, these \u201creturnees\u201d began to appear in South Korea, having managed to secretly defect. These days, about 200 of these defectors live in Japan and another 300 in South Korea. Starting last year, ASIAPRESS began interviewing this community to listen to their stories.
\nNext page : To prevent painful memories from becoming lost to time\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Photographed is Rhee Ha-na, the first defector to graduate from university in Japan. Photograph provided by Kim Hye-rim<\/p><\/div>\n

\u25a0 To prevent painful memories from becoming lost to time<\/h2>\n

Travelling unaccompanied, a man in his 20\u2019s from Higashi-osaka city joined the voyage to North Korea. He believed in the propaganda which boasted of the socialist North\u2019s impressive development.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was filled with the hope that I would learn a lot and contribute to the revolution. The reality that I was met with, however, was a backward country where the people lacked everything, even an understanding of the revolution. It was a society with no freedom and I was unable to carve out a life for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

After 50 years of disappointment, the man defected from the country, coming to live in South Korea.<\/p>\n

Another man, now living in western Osaka, depended on large remittances from a Japanese relative before his defection. Along with 4 family members, he defected 15 years ago due to political problems.<\/p>\n

Looking back on his life in North Korea, he appears quite rueful, saying, \u201cI lived well in a big apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another man, who returned to North Korea with his sister and brother when he was in middle school, now lives in Tokyo. He said, \u201cMy older sister was so shocked by the controlled lifestyle in North Korea that she developed a mental illness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of the returnees who defected to the South or Japan are now elderly. Some have passed away. There is not much time left, therefore, to record their stories and preserve the memories of their lives in North Korea.<\/p>\n

\u203bLast year, an NGO was launched for Korean-Japanese and Japanese to work together to preserve the history of the Korean-Japanese returnees.<\/p>\n

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