"Thank god! You're still alive, mom"

Mother, are you really alive? Upon learning that his 109-year-old mother is still living in North Korea, Chang Yi-Yoon, 72, could not believe the news. His mother, Koo In-Hyun, was the oldest woman found in the list of the candidates for the reunions of separated families, whose whereabouts were confirmed by North Korea.

Chang, born in 1929 and the youngest of seven brothers and sisters, lived in Woesan-myon, Yongchong-gun, Pyongan-pukto, North Korea. Saying that his mother loved him very much, he shed tears when he realized that his long-cherished dream to meet her again will come true.

He left his family on Dec. 5, 1950, when the Chinese People`s Army intervened in the Korean War and advanced southward.

At that time, when adult men were found on the streets of Pyongyang, they were forcibly drafted into the military or executed. He therefore sought refuge in his uncle`s home for some time, and later bade farewell to his mother, deciding to make his escape from the North. He told his family he would first go to the South and promised to meet with them again. But his departure marked the beginning of a permanent separation.

Chang left his family with his second older brother, Moon-Taek, 90, who is now deceased, and moved southward.

But he lost his brother and other relatives in a surging crowd of refugees when they crossed the Taedong River. He traveled 10 km further south, thus finally fleeing the North alone. He arrived on the outskirts of Seoul after a 15-day odyssey.

In the 1960s, he met the brother he had fled the North with again, and the two settled in Inchon and established the Hankwang insulator industry company, manufacturing electric appliances. They earned a huge amount of money, but he squandered it all in his failed bid to launch a movie production venture.

Afterwards, he moved to Busan, and has lived there since in the slum area of Tong-gu, Sujong-dong. He married Park Soon-Hee, 62, there, and has two sons and one daughter. With some relatives, he established the Kukjae kitchen utensils shop, which sells used kitchen articles.

Chang recalled that his mother was so affectionate to him, the youngest son, that he was nursed at her breast until he was 8 years old. He says when he meets her, he will weep endlessly with his head in her

bosom.

Remembering that he will soon see his mother again, Chang heaves a sigh of relief, and appears to temporarily forget all the past agonies that have marked his weathered face.