June 25, 2001, Yonhap News
Walking the Path of Wartime Abductions

An event was held that allowed the families of people who abducted by North Korea during the Korean War to experience firsthand the difficulties their loved ones suffered.

The Korean War Abductees’ Union (KWAFU) hosted the event, which had participants walk from Independence Park in Seodaemun-gu to Imjingak.

Independence Park is where Seodaemun Prison is located. The prison was a site where North Korean forces massacred leading members of South Korean society during the war.

Most of the some 500 people attending the event are the relatives of abductees and are old enough to remember the Korean War. During the event, participants called for North Korea to quickly repatriate the abductees and for the South Korean government to put pressure on the North to do so.

The participants then followed the path abductees were taken, walking a distance of 8.2 km to Gupabal in Eunpyeong-gu.
Participants then boarded a bus at Gupabal and were taken within one mile of Imjingak. They were given rice balls to experience the poor eating conditions during the time, and later after reaching Imjingak they sung the song “Our Hope is for Unification.”

Mi-Il Lee, the president of KWAFU and organizer of the event, said that, “This event was organized to allow people to understand the difficult experience abductees had and spread awareness about the issues that still remain today. When Kim Jong Il comes to Seoul we hope he’ll bring the families North Korea took 51 years ago with him.”