The 75 years of division and conflict from the Korean War have not only affected the first generation, who still long for their hometowns in North Korea, but also younger generations who have no memories of the conflict, yet many of whom have inherited the weight of uncertainty and the mission of searching for missing relatives.
This iteration of Letters to My Hometown invites audiences to listen and reflect upon intergenerational conversations of the Korean American community whose divided families have sustained the traumas of their homeland’s partition. Generously supported by the American Friends Service Committee, these conversations aim to take steps toward transforming the intergenerational traumas of the Korean War into opportunities for collective remembering, learning, and healing.
In this Letters to My Hometown reflection, Hyung Chang Kim recounts his father’s life—marked by resistance, survival, and an enduring longing for Hwanghae Province. Through inherited memory and grief, his letter reflects how the sorrow of division can pass across generations, shaping both identity and hope.