Wiping the Tears of North Korea

“Extend a warm hand to North Koreans suffering from the deadly train explosion in Yongcheon.’

As scenes of the train explosion are being played one after another, the Korean people are joining with Korean civic groups, companies, and the government to offer helping hands to their desperate North Korean compatriots.

On April 26, citizens’ calls inquiring about donations came in all day to the emergency office of “Yongcheon Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters” in the Red Cross building.

Most were general citizens wanting to donate small sums of money not exceeding 0.1 million won. Welfare organizations, corporate bodies, universities and colleges, and medical personnel, including neurosurgeon specialists, also called to express their desire to help.

“We almost can’t do our own tasks due to the rush of calls inquiring about donations,” said Hwang Jae-sung, secretary of the Korean Sharing Movement, adding, “Elementary school students are collecting donations in their classes, and there are a lot of pharmacists and doctors who want to deliver medicines.”

Private organizations relief efforts are at their highest level since the nationwide food relief campaign during the North Korean food crisis in 1997.

The “Yongcheon Train Explosion Victims Aid Movement Headquarters,” consisting of 30 aid groups including the Korean Sharing Movement will start functioning today and launch a nationwide North Korean support movement including fund-raising and relief goods collection.

The headquarters will send staff to Dandong, China to deliver medicines and necessities equivalent to 10 billion won by April 29, and handle fund raising campaigns and maintain the group’s homepage for the next three months.

The “Korea Becomes One” movement headquarters, consisting of about 90 civic groups including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions announced its plan to launch a nationwide campaign called, “New Hope to Yongcheon in North Korea” at a press conference held in Myungdong Cathedral at 2 p.m. yesterday.

They will hold a fund raising campaign in major cities including Seoul, Busan, Daegu and others, and dispatch staff to Dandong 0n April 29 to deliver medicines and emergency relief goods equivalent to 0.1 million dollars.

Conservative organizations that have been opposed to giving assistance to North Korea are so far not opposing current relief activities.

“We can give assistance from a humanitarian viewpoint,” said Bong Tea-hong, chairman of the youth subcommittee of the Anti-Nuclear, Anti-Kim People’s Association, adding, “I agree in principle that relief activities are needed to help victims of catastrophe.”

Jin-Kyun Kil Jae-Dong Yu leon@donga.com jarrett@donga.com