Dear Mr. Kang,
I would like to let you know how much I appreciate the efforts that everyone that worked on my mother’s case did on behalf of her and our family.
I know that this search was a difficult one because it seemed like we were too late in initiating the search for her family members.
My mother has talked very little about her family and we were always told that they were all dead because she had assumed them dead long ago. It was very difficult for my mother to believe that someone she had never met would be able to deliver any information at all.
It was particularly hard for my mother to handle the reality that so many of her family members were deceased once the information began to be relayed to us. For me, it was finally information about ½ of a family that I had never known. I felt that at least now I could put names and dates together and try to put the puzzle pieces of her family together that I otherwise would never know.
We always knew that nieces and nephews had to be out there that could fill in the blanks of the lives of my mother’s brothers and sisters in the event that they were all deceased. When I read that my mother’s niece did not know the whereabouts of Kum Ja, I immediately knew she was still alive. I knew the girl in the picture was still out there somewhere. She, of course, was the only face I had ever seen. The young, smiling, pretty girl, surrounded by other girls, has stared out of that picture at me for over 25 years. I have gazed at that very same picture countless times and asked questions of my mother that were never answered and said to that picture, “Where are you?” were all answered with one e-mail declaring the good news that Kum Ja was found and waiting on a call from my mother. The feeling was truly unbelievable.
I have never regretted for one minute the steps it took to make this happen because we had always believed that someone was alive. The only regret I have is that we didn’t do this. We had grown up believing that we had no grandparents. I learned that my grandfather lived until 1987. Had we done this search back then, we could have met him and known him. We believed her siblings were all dead only to learn that if we had done this 10 years earlier we would have seen them all except her youngest brother that passed away 30 years ago.
I will highly recommend to anyone that you and your agency are the “real deal.” Your agency did exactly what was said would be done and for that we are eternally grateful.
Sincerely yours,
Sharon K. Thompson 5/17/2008
46 년만에 찾은 가족
The Best Mother’s Day Gift
In 1962, my Korean mother married an American Army Soldier and soon they left Korea for the United States. For the next two years my mother remained in contact with her younger sister through letter writing. Over time though, through different moves with the Army and her sister moving, they lost all contact with each other. For the past 44 years my mother has been heartbroken over not knowing the whereabouts or wellbeing of her family in Korea.
Over the years, I wondered about my Korean relatives and was eager to know about my heritage. One day while looking for information on finding lost Korean relatives, I stumbled upon a web-site featuring Mr. Kang. I read the many stories and letters and was encouraged that he might be the one who could reunite our family. In March 2008, I made a decision that would require a great deal of trust in someone I had never met before. After talking to my mother, my sister and brother, we decided to “go for it, and hope for the best”. Mr. Kang made no guarantee but he said if he could find some record on my mother in Korea, he believed that we had a 90% chance of finding at least one relative.
A week ago, we had our first exciting but bittersweet news. Mr. Kang found a niece of my mothers. Unfortunately after talking with the niece, it was confirmed that all but one of my mother’s sisters and brothers had passed away. Her niece did not know the condition or whereabouts of the last sister.
Last night, we got the best news ever. I received a phone call from Mr. Kang telling me that he found my mother’s younger sister Kum Ja; she was alive and well, living in Seoul. My mother called the phone number provided by Mr. Kang and remarkably, it was Kum Ja !. I cannot remember my mother being more excited than she was last night. She can hardly wait to call Kum Ja again.
Today, I made airline reservations for my mother to visit Kum Ja. She will be leaving for Korea at the end of this month. I know it will be a very special reunion that has been long overdue.
We are so grateful for the hard work Mr. Kang and his associates did for us. We would never have been able to reunite our family without them. Finding my mother’s sister was the best Mother’s Day gift my sister, brother, and I could ever give to our mother.
Sincerely,
Brenda Landau Davidson, NC, May 15, 2008