Koreans in Columbia React to Kim Jong Il’s Death
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COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — For twenty years now, Young Sil Kim has lived in America. She moved here from South Korea to study and see the bigger world that she says, she couldn’t see from there. Since moving here she has continued to enjoy a life of freedom and even has a family. But a big piece of her heart remains in South Korea along with a desire that her native land will once again be united with North Korea. Something that hasn’t been possible for nearly sixty years, since North Korea was under the rule of Kim Jong Il, and his father, Kim Il Song. “I thought that the death of Kim Jong Il was good news, not his personal death but good news for the people of Korea, the change that it can bring,” says Young Sil Kim, President Elect of the Korean Association of Columbia. Young Sil Kim says the reaction to Kim Jong Il’s death will not be heard very loudly here, at least not for now. This is because Koreans in Columbia are waiting to see how their friends and family in their native land will react so that they can show support. While the future remains up in the air, the past will never be forgotten. Since under the regime of Kim Jong Il, the poor in North Korea haven’t been able to see the fruits of their labor and families have suffered the pain of separation. Young Sil Kim says her hope is that they may soon be able to at least meet and possibly reunite. However, she fears for some, that day may never come. “Those people who have families in North Korea, have had hope that they will be re-united. However, much time has passed and, and many in that generation are dying,” says Young Sil Kim. Yet still there are some left from that era and for both South Koreans and North Koreans, Young Sil Kim says she hopes change will come. For her, the change would mean seeing and understanding a part of her history. “Up to this point, we never saw these places, we only saw books and pictures about them, but by being able to go there, we will be able to show a common experience,” says Young Sil Kim.
