Divided Korean Families: Why Does It Take so Long to Remedy the Unhealed Wounds?

Abstract

This paper examines the issues of psychosocial impact and consequence resulted from the Korean conflict on the lives of ten million Korean families. The suffering and unresolved grief of those who lived under the hopes of family reunion and reunification of their divided motherland are mounted high as the older generations are either already gone or dying fast while the younger generations become disconnected from their intergenerational continuity. Case studies are used to assess intergenerational patterns of prolonged separation and loss associated with family dispersal. Special attention will be given to the discussion of remedial strategies for national and international network of family advocacy and healing processes.