Staff at Miyagi`s Seoul office numb with pain over quake

Four days after the devastating earthquake in northeastern Japan, the Seoul office of Japan`s Miyagi Prefecture was quiet in stark contrast to the day of the quake.

The phones that had kept ringing Friday were quiet Tuesday. Silence reigned in the office. Unlike Friday, when all the office’s five workers were busy listening to NHK broadcasts and checking the situation in Japan, they showed no emotion and refrained from talking Tuesday as if exhausted by sorrow.

As the TV continued to report updated news on the quake damage, they silently turned it off.

“I get phone calls from my colleagues from the Miyagi Prefectural Office every day and receive news that one of the employees lost his father or mother,” said Takao Abe, director of the Seoul office.

As Abe spoke, he tried to remain composed with his eyes closed. He has been unable to get in contact with his elderly parents and his brother’s family since Friday.

Before coming to Seoul two years ago, Abe spent his whole life in his prefecture, the hardest hit by the quake, and worked for the Miyagi government. Some 2,000 bodies were found in a village there, and the village where he used to play as a child was flooded.

“Miyagi Prefecture is my life,” he said sobbing.

The Seoul office is waiting for Miyagi to make an official announcement on the damage, considering it meaningless to keep track at a time when damage is snowballing.

“I`m so frustrated that we haven`t been able to help all the people who ask us to locate their families and friends in Miyagi since the quake because we cannot even get in touch (with the prefectural government),” Abe said.

“From the bottom of my heart, I thank Koreans who helped us,” he said before standing up and giving a deep bow with his head.

Miyagi Prefecture opened the Seoul office in 1992 as its first overseas operation to help expand cultural and economic exchanges with Seoul. The office said it is doing all it can to get news from the prefecture.

Donations to Miyagi Prefecture can be deposited into the bank account of the Seoul office (411401-01-225230 Kookmin Bank). The office’s phone number is (02) 725-3978.

hjson@donga.com