Megumi Horikoshi (b.1934 in Tokyo) sits in her room in Pyongyang. When Megumi was 18, she met her Korean husband who was living near her house in Tokyo. In June 1960, they left Japan for North Korea during a repatriation program. “There were 13 Japanese women in Chung-Guyok district in Pyongyang where I live. Now all have died and I am the only one left”.

About 93,000 ethnic Koreans in Japan moved to North Korea during a repatriation program organized by the Red Cross between 1959 and 1984. Among them, there were about 1,800 Japanese women who accompanied their Korean husbands. Most of them have never been able to return to Japan.

Photo by Noriko Hayashi, Pyongyang (North Korea)

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Megumi Horikoshi (rođena 1934. godine u Tokiju) sjedi u svojoj sobi u Pjongjangu. Kada je Megumi imala 18 godina, upoznala je svog budućeg korejskog supruga koji je živio blizu njenog doma u Tokiju. U junu 1960. godine, napustili su Japan i preselili se u Sjevernu Koreju tokom programa repatrijacije. “U četvrti Chung-Guyok u Pjongjangu, gdje sada živim, bilo je 13 “japanskih žena”. Sve su preminule i ja sam jedina preostala.”

Oko 93.000 etničkih Korejaca koji su živjeli u Japanu se preselilo u Sjevernu Koreju tokom programa repatrijacije koji je organizovao Crveni krst između 1959. i 1984. Među njima je bilo oko 1.800 japanskih žena koje su pratile svoje korejske supružnike. Većina njih se nikada nije vratila u Japan.

Foto: Noriko Hayashi, Pjongjang (Sjeverna Koreja)