After 50 years in North Korea, a South Korean POW has finally made back home. Courtesy the Chosun Ilbo:
South Korean prisoner of war Jeon Yong-il, 72, who was arrested by Chinese security agents for using a fake passport while trying to escape from North Korea, set foot once again in his motherland when he arrived at Incheon International Airport on Wednesday at 4:18 PM. Jeon spent 41 days in Chinese detention.
Jeon started his trip home this morning when he boarded an Air China flight from Yenji, China.
Since the return of 2nd Lt. Cho Chang-ho in October 1994, 33 South Korean POWs have managed to escape from the North and return to South Korea.
Jeon, who disappeared in August 1953 during the Korean War, escaped from North Korea last June after spending nearly 50 years in the country. At first, he tried to return home through the South Korean Embassy in Beijing, but he was disappointed by the lukewarm response he received from embassy personnel. He then decided to try entering South Korea on his own with a fake passport, but he was arrested on November 13 by Chinese security personnel in Hangzhou Airport.
This guy’s got a hell of an adjustment to make now. I wish him all the best.
3 Comments
It’s a shame the way the Korean bureaucracy treats it’s citizens, and foreigners for that matter. Please keep following this story. I’d like to hear what the former POW’s reaction was when he saw South Korea for the first time after living in a time-warp for 50 years! Thanks, I love your blog.
What a pathetic state of affairs! Poor guy!
Several items concerning this from where I sit. First, if I was within the ROK government and worked at the embassy in China or at the ministry here in Seoul I would be embarrassed of the treatment of a military veteran in this way. Second, what has the ROK government done concerning his return in regards to North Korea? Any diplomatic talks concerning the return of POWs which should have been accomplished a long time ago as part of the current armistice? Did the government welcome him home in any manner? Or will they pretend it did not happen in order not to make North Korea angry? Will the government provide him with back pay for all those years? What is the sentiment within the Korean society about this returning military veteran which truly served his country from appearance far more than many of the current political leaders through his sacrifices in securing their current way of life?
G sends???..