Navigating Silence and the "Finding Dispersed Family program"

Following the Korean War, silence was often the only outcome. As families were separated across the border, letters went unanswered, phone calls never connected, and years passed without any knowledge of loved ones’ fates. This enforced silence compounded the trauma of separation, leaving countless individuals to grapple with uncertainty, grief, and longing. For many, the lack of communication created a void in their lives—a missing piece of identity tied to family, community, and history. Children grew up without knowing siblings or parents; parents aged without seeing the faces of their children. Even when opportunities for reunion occasionally arose, they were fraught with logistical, political, and emotional barriers. The silence itself became a heavy legacy, one that shaped not only the lives of those directly affected but also the broader collective memory of the Korean people. Until the Show Finding dispersed families was brought to air. 

From June 30 to November 14, 1983, the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) aired Finding Dispersed Families, a groundbreaking 138-day live television broadcast aimed at reuniting families separated by the Korean War (1950–1953). The program featured deeply emotional on-air reunions, many using an innovative split-screen format that allowed relatives to see and speak with each other in real time, even when located in different studios or countries. These images thus feature just that reality as thousands of Koreans made their way across various KBS studios across the country in the hopes or reunifiying with loved ones. They carried not only names and photographs but hope and grief. 

Over 100,000 applications were received, and more than 53,000 reunion cases were aired.[1] The broadcasts not only captured raw and intimate personal testimonies but also served as a national moment of collective remembrance and healing.

Today, the Finding Dispersed Families archive, recognized by UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register, preserves over 20,000 items, including video recordings, photographs, cue sheets, posters, and written testimonies.[2] Digitized and made publicly accessible, the collection offers scholars, descendants, and the general public an invaluable resource for understanding war’s human toll, the resilience of familial bonds, and the role of mass media in shaping historical memory.

[1]Korean Broadcasting System. KBS Archive: Dispersed Families Online Gallery. http://family.kbsarchive.com/cyber_gallery/kbs_photoalbum/

[2]Korean Broadcasting System. KBS Archive http://family.kbsarchive.com/cyber_gallery/kbs_photoalbum/