Many Korean people were coerced to the military in Japanese colonial rule to Ostrov Sakhalin, Russia and most of them could not have returned to their home since the Korean Independence and have lived in Korea. They think of Korea as their own home. I...
Many Korean people were coerced to the military in Japanese colonial rule to Ostrov Sakhalin, Russia and most of them could not have returned to their home since the Korean Independence and have lived in Korea. They think of Korea as their own home. It is reasonable they believe that they must have returned, but they complained and lamented that only Japanese people could have returned to Japan. After the end of Korean War, the abused wanted to see Korea's liberation, but what they really wanted was expectation about the possibility of returning to their home. At that time, they had wishful thinking they could land in their home earlier than Japanese people.
According to a Pack agreed between America ad Russia in 1946 on permanent residence return home, as many as three hundred and thousands people retuned to their own country, in the following year, 1947, Chinese people returned home. In this vein, Korean's return home was just around the corner Sakhalin-Korean thought. Unfortunately, Koreans could not return their home. They thought that was just temporary. They gathered in a hill of a port Korsakov, when the liberation was declared. However, they could not get on the vessel bounded to home against Russian forces. Therefore, there is a hill of Korsakov, called a nostalgia hill where they wept everyday with grief in the hill to appease their sorrow.
Under the circumstances, Sakhalin has become a "grievous Sakhalin island' to compatriots. The Japan and Korean government should take responsibilities for them. Since 1988 Seoul Olympics, the news about Sakhalin has been spreaded to Korea and communications has been relatively active. Korean Divided Family Association was founded in 1989 and then a Sahkalin senior group hosted a permanent return home by visiting Japan and Korea.
So the permanent return home campaign has been on the ride since the outset of "lovely house" in Gangwon Province in 1992, a senior care house, in Daechang Daegu, Chunuy dong, Buchun City, Samsan dong, Inchoen City, Dungchon dong, Seoul, etc. respectively. Since the normalization of Russia and Korea, as many as 32.2 billion yen was donated by an agreement between the Korea's president Kim Young Sam and Japan's prime minister Murayama for permanent return home. After that a local government, Ansan city implemented a Pilot Project, February 2000 and built an apartment area called a native village which was able to house about 900 people of 489 residents in a massive fashion.
The Ansan government has established the native village, a social welfare system as an organization of support for Sakhalin compatriots providing them with a variety of services for stable resettlement, safety for life, moving-in and funerals, etc. The native village was founded by pre-rental fees for 30 years with a 27 billion won the Japanese government helped.
This was led by the 1994 agreement between Korea and Japan on supports for permanent return home. The village has 8 units in a 23 pyong size.
Over some decades, Sakhalin compatriots had lived in a foreign country. They are not familiar with Korean society, whose average age is 74. They need much more care and attention from society because of chronical diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetics, etc.
For the sake of their living stabilization, firstly the center of native village has provided legal welfare wages to pave the way for their stable life. The annual 4.5 billion wages have been funnelled by each government from State, Province and City.
Secondly, the center has operated cultural programmes. These programmes are designed to help them understand Korean cultures, boost emotional relaxation in restless life by holding events for celebration of their birthday and art philological therapy. The center has also supported clubs such as playing drums, singing songs which are Korean traditional performances, travelling, playing gate ball. The center has encouraged them to take part in local events that lead them to be united one; translation jobs, environmental groups to prevent contamination, etc.
Finally, the center has focused on health care services by visiting their apartments individually in a 1 for 4 group way. Among services they like to use a and a traditional oriental medicine room and a physical therapy room. However, under the current National Basic Livelihood Protection Law, there are a lot of problems and limitations in supporting them.
Therefore, a fast track special law must be enacted to support Sakhalin compatriots. This study sheds light on advantages and disadvantages of social welfares given to Sakhalin compatriots and continuous supply of the strengths of welfare services and the modification of their weaknesses.
The government may would do well to support Sakhalin compatriots more systematically and technically.