Sakhalin Koreans return home to honor parents’ wish

“I came to Korea in keeping with my parents’ wish that ‘even in death, you must be buried in your homeland.’ After arriving, I felt that our people are so resilient that they can live anywhere, as the saying goes, ‘even if placed on a rock.’”

On Aug. 12 at the Namdong Sakhalin Center in Incheon’s Namdong District, Han Bok-soon, 86, a second-generation Sakhalin Korean, spoke in fluent Korean with tears in her eyes about settling permanently in her homeland. Han’s parents, who had lived in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, were conscripted in 1939 and taken to Sakhalin for forced labor under Japanese rule. Born there, Han returned to Korea in February this year, fulfilling her parents’ last wish.

After Japan’s defeat in World War II and the arrival of Soviet forces, Koreans taken to Sakhalin for forced labor were unable to return home. Yet they never lost their sense of identity. Moon Jeong-hyeon, 87, chairman of the Namdong Sakhalin Center, who came back to Korea in 2007, said, “The most painful things were being stateless and facing ethnic discrimination. Without exception, everyone held on to the thought of returning to their hometowns.”

Those unable to return listened in secret to Korean radio every night under their blankets, longing for the families and relatives they had left behind. “The Soviet KGB cracked down, but our parents would turn on the Korean broadcast at 2 a.m.,” Moon recalled. “We observed ancestral rites and birthdays by the lunar calendar, but without calendars, we relied on the Korean radio to mark the dates.”

They expressed pride in Korea’s progress. Han said, “I especially feel the power of Korean culture. These days, cosmetics seem to be popular worldwide. My grandchild, who lives in the United States, came in May and bought many Korean cosmetics, saying they were good.” She added, “Korea’s ‘ppalli-ppalli’ (hurry-hurry) culture is something we must learn.”

The Namdong Sakhalin Center, the only organization in Korea for Sakhalin Koreans, is preparing a small event to mark the 80th anniversary of liberation. Moon said with a smile, “We plan to share rice cakes as small gifts to celebrate Liberation Day.”


조유라 jyr0101@donga.com