19 Freed Hostages Return Home Safely

The 19 Korean hostages who were released by Taliban insurgents arrived at Dubai International Airport yesterday after departing Kabul on August 31. They spent a night at the Dusit Dubai Hotel and got on Korean Airlines Flight 952 departing for Incheon.

They flew aboard a 747-400 instead of the originally scheduled and smaller Airbus 330-300 jet along with government officials.

Once they found their seats aboard the plane, they searched for Korean newspapers, which they read with great interest.

About an hour after the plane took off at 5:10 p.m., Pak In-guk, who was in charge of the Korean hostages (a senior member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade) allowed a three-minute photo session for reporters on the condition that they not ask any questions.

Most of the female hostages, including Cha Hye-jin (31) and Kim Yoon-yeong (35), failed to get much sleep and shed tears. An Hye-jin (31) seemed nervous with her eyes turning away. Lyu Kyung-sik (55), the eldest man among the group, sit vacantly in his seat, lost in his thoughts.

The freed Korean hostages arrived at Incheon International Airport at 7:00 a.m. on September 2 and got on a bus to Sam Medical Center in Anyang City for a medical checkup.

When they arrived at the hospital at 8:30 a.m., they first met their family members. As they reunited with their family members, they burst in tears and cried together for a while.

Lee Ji-yeong (36), who yielded her opportunity to be released by the Taliban to other female hostages, who were freed on Aug 13, wiped away her mother’s tears. Kim Kyeong-ja and Kim Ji-na, the two females currently hospitalized at the country`s military hospital, joined their colleagues at Sam and sobbed when they met Lee, who gave up her freedom for them.

The two children of Kim Yoon-yeong (35) were joyous when reunited with their mother. The six-year-old son gave a massage to his mother and the eight-year-old daughter didn’t let go her hold on her mother’s hand, asking her mother to promise never to go away again.

Seo Jeong-bae (57), the father of Seo Myeong-hwa (29) and Seo Gyeong-seok (27), welcomed his children with a smile. He smiled at his son, saying, “I thought only about you for the last 40 days and now I am happy to see you all.” Seo Gyeong-seok, who was thin from the ordeal, tried to calm down his mother by patting her back.

Due to the long captivity, they all looked very tired and weary and couldn’t have long conversations with their families. They just held each other and cried without saying much. One female lost consciousness after reuniting with her family members.

Bae Sin-gyu (45), the brother of the late Rev. Bae, visited the hospital and watched the family reunions from a distance.

Hospital officials in Anyang said the returnees will undergo medical checkups and treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. They expect that the treatment will last at least two weeks.

The president of the hospital, Cha Seung-gyu, said, “If a person was held hostage for about 15 days, it usually takes about three to four months to return to normal life. Since there is no such precedent in this case, I cannot say for sure how long it will take, but I believe it will be quite a while.”

Meanwhile, family members visited Myung-dong Cathedral to show gratitude, and plan to visit news outlets and other organizations to express their appreciation for their help.