During the Chuseok holidays, it’s customary for people to spend time with their families. However, not everyone has this opportunity. At this time of year, refugees from North Korea can only dream of home. And so a special Chuseok event was held for these individuals.
Joseph Kim has more.
[slug] Korean Red Cross, Jeju Branch

The sizzling sound of jeon(전) being fried in a pan… tells us it’s Chuseok(추석).
While most people spend this national holiday with family, this time of year can be depressing for those unable to do so. But here, like-minded North Korean refugees have gathered together to make the holiday as joyous as possible.

[slug]
Joint ancestral rites held for NK refugees

A special event was held for North Korean refugees in Jeju, organized by the Jeju Hana Center and funded by the Jeju Branch of the Korean Red Cross. Some 80 refugees and volunteers took part. Together, they made Chuseok food and held joint ancestral rites.

[Interview]
Lee Jung-hee / Team leader, Jeju Hana Center
Today’s event was organized to help North Korean refugees at this emotional time. We wanted to create a warm environment and be family for them.
<인터뷰 : 이정희/제주특별자치도하나센터 팀장>
"오늘 이 행사는 우리 하나 가족 분들이 고향에 가고 싶은 마음을 조금이나마 달래고
가족에 대한 그리움을 조금이라도 따뜻하게
-------------수퍼체인지---------------
감싸주고 싶어서 마련하게 되었습니다."

Through laughter and conversations that go back and forth over a pan of sizzling jeon(전), the refugees are able to feel a little less nostalgic.

[INTERVIEW]
Park Jung-ok / Gonae-ri, Aewol-eup, Jeju City
Every year at Chuseok, I am reminded of home. I miss my family and my brothers and sisters. But thanks to government organizers and the Hana Center, the sad feelings go away and I’m able to smile. It makes me want to better adjust to life in South Korea as I start a new life here.
<인터뷰 : 박정옥/제주시 애월읍 고내리>
"해마다 추석이면 고향 생각도 나고 부모님, 형제들 생각도 나는데 때마다 이렇게 정부에서, 또 하나센터에서 행사에 초청해주고
---------------수퍼체인지------------
슬픈 마음을 기쁨으로 바꿔주어서 참 좋고요. 이를 통해서 남한사회에 더 잘 정착하고 앞으로 새 삶을 살기 위해 부단히 노력하겠습니다."

[CAMERA]
Park Byeong-joon

The carefully prepared food is laid out on the ancestral table and traditional rites are carried out. Only after the joint ancestral rites have been held do the refugees feel they have done their part... as they think of family back home.

[Reporter]
Joseph Kim

Still adjusting to life here, where everything is similar yet different… including the way Chuseok is spent... North Korean refugees in Jeju are taking it one step at a time as they settle down in their new home. Joseph Kim, KCTV.