Faded Mother’s Face Becomes Clear... Busan Police Reunite Family Separated for 35 Years

Jeong-ok's mother is crying with joy upon meeting her daughter. [Image provided by Busan Police Agency]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] A woman in her 40s who was separated from her family at the age of 5 returned to her family’s arms with the help of the Busanjin Police Station.

On the morning of the 2nd, Busanjin Police Station held a family reunion event in the large auditorium on the 7th floor of the Busanjin Police Station.

According to the police, on February 1st, Ms. Park Jeong-ok (alias, 41 years old, female) registered her DNA with the missing persons team at Busanjin Police Station to find her lost family.

In 1987, when Jeong-ok was 5 years old, she lost her family while visiting her maternal uncle’s house in Jeonju during the Lunar New Year holiday after going to Jeonju Intercity Bus Terminal. Jeong-ok, found at the terminal, spent her childhood in an orphanage.

She remembered that she had a younger brother and her parents’ names, but she could not recall her exact date of birth or name.

Jeong-ok said, “Every birthday, I cried a lot because I missed my family so much,” and “Whenever I was sick, my mother’s face appeared in my dreams, but since I didn’t know her face, it was always blurred and pixelated.”

Jeong-ok’s mother said, “I always felt guilty and sorry, and I always longed to see her,” as she gently stroked Jeong-ok.

Jeong-ok’s younger sister said, “I always thought about her, missed her, and lived with the guilt and regret of not finding her, so I’m relieved to have met my sister like this.”

Jeong-ok smiled brightly as she learned her real birthday from her family, not the birthday assigned to her by the orphanage.

The missing persons team at Busanjin Police Station selected Jeong-ok as a subject of the ‘Re-member’ project and facilitated her reunion with her family.

The ‘Re-member’ project is an internal policy that remembers (remember) long-term missing children cases, re-examines them, and returns them to their family as a member (a member) again.

The missing persons team reviewed various data and identified 556 individuals of similar age presumed to be Jeong-ok, then narrowed it down to 6 based on Jeong-ok’s report.

After intensive inquiries among the 6 candidates, they were able to find Jeong-ok’s family.

For accurate judgment, the missing persons team requested a DNA test from the mother and received confirmation that it matched Jeong-ok’s DNA.

Officer Kim Mi-hyun of the missing persons team said, “Registering DNA can increase the chances of finding missing family members,” and “Providing as much information as possible that you remember and distinguishing between accurate and inaccurate information greatly helps in finding missing persons.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.