A 92-year-old mother tearfully hugs the son she has not seen since he was four. It's a heart-breaking image that reminds us of the brutal legacy of the Korean War - countless families separated for decades, not even knowing if their relatives on the other side of the DMZ are even still alive. Lee Keum-seom fled North Korea in 1950 on foot carrying her baby daughter, her husband carrying their son, but they were separated in the panic and she had not seen or heard from either of them since. Lee and her daughter were among dozens chosen from South Korea to travel to North Korea for a highly publicized and politicized family reunion. CNN follows Lee and her daughter from the start of their life-changing journey to the over-whelming reunion and to the final separation and the undeniable reality of living on different sides of an impenetrable border.
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A family reunion almost 70 years in the making
CNN follows a woman separated from her son during the Korean War as she prepares to be reunited with him for the first time since 1950.
9:10 • Source: CNN
Korea family reunions 9 videos
A 92-year-old mother tearfully hugs the son she has not seen since he was four. It's a heart-breaking image that reminds us of the brutal legacy of the Korean War - countless families separated for decades, not even knowing if their relatives on the other side of the DMZ are even still alive. Lee Keum-seom fled North Korea in 1950 on foot carrying her baby daughter, her husband carrying their son, but they were separated in the panic and she had not seen or heard from either of them since. Lee and her daughter were among dozens chosen from South Korea to travel to North Korea for a highly publicized and politicized family reunion. CNN follows Lee and her daughter from the start of their life-changing journey to the over-whelming reunion and to the final separation and the undeniable reality of living on different sides of an impenetrable border.
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A family reunion almost 70 years in the making
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South Korean Lee Keum-seom (L), 92, meets with her North Korean son Ri Sung Chol (R), 71, during a separated family reunion meeting at the Mount Kumgang resort on the North's southeastern coast on August 20, 2018. - Dozens of elderly and frail South Koreans met their Northern relatives on August 20 for the first time since the peninsula and their families were divided by war nearly seven decades ago. (Photo by KOREA POOL / KOREA POOL / AFP) / South Korea OUT / REPUBLIC OF KOREA OUT (Photo credit should read KOREA POOL/AFP/Getty Images)
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S. Koreans cross DMZ for rare family reunions
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65 years waiting and hoping to see his sister again
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Mom to see son for first time in 68 years
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Families separated by war hope to be reunited
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A North and South Korean reunion ends in goodbyes
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Families reunited after decades apart
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PANMUNJOM, SOUTH KOREA - JANUARY 09: South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon (L) shakes hands with the head of North Korean delegation Ri Son-Gwon (R) before their meeting at the Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone on January 9, 2018 in Panmunjom, South Korea. South and North Korea are scheduled to begin their first official face-to-face talks in two years on Tuesday, January 9, 2017. (Photo by Korea Pool/Getty Images)
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Korea talks focus on Olympics, family reunions
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Korean man's 60-year wait to see family
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