New Year's wish

(00:01) NEW YEAR'S WISHES
(00:05-00:17) 2018 is history, and here comes 2019
What are people wishing for in the new year?

(00:19) HAPPINESS
(00:25) "I want to be happier."
(00:27) "I hope everyone will be happy."
(00:29) "I hope 2019 is a happy year in which everyone achieves what they wish for."


(00:37) PEACE
(00:50) "I hope Koreans from the South and North come together in peace."

(00:53-01:04) REUNION, REUNIFICATION
For families in South and North Korea separated by war, wishes for their reunification become more earnest as time goes by.

(01:09-01:19) Park Ok-sun has two siblings in the North. She came to the South during the Korean War (1950-1953) and has never been able to go back. She has been waiting for decades to see her loved ones.

(01:20-01:35) "I would be very happy if I could visit my hometown before I die. It is my hope. If there were a way, I would go."

(01:37-01:46) During the Korean War, in 1950, UN forces and the South Korean military evacuated from the North Korean port of Heungnam, with some 14,000 North Korean refugees. They were transported to the South on a U.S. ship, the SS Meredith Victory.

(01:48-02:01) During the evacuation, five babies were born on the ship.
Sohn Yang-young is one of them, and he is still looking for his older brother and sister in the North, whom he has never seen.

(02:02-02:24) "The two Koreas might have different ideologies, but I would be glad to at least know whether they are alive, how they are doing and to see their faces. That is my wish. I hope the two Koreas take a step forward next year for those separated families."

(02:25-02:39) This is Odusan Unification Tower in Paju, Gyeonggi-do Province, where visitors can get a panoramic view of the North Korean territory just across the border.

(02:41-02:59) "Seen from here, the North Korea seems so close that I almost can't tell which side is the South and which is the North. I hope the two Koreas can take a step forward next year."

(03:07) 2019, towards reunification

(03:13) 2019, happy new year