"Miracle" reunion after 62 years: At the age of 4, Jin Myung-sook (now 66) lost her way at market, got separated from family. She was reunited yesterday thanks to Korean police's genetic analysis system. Holding back her tears, she hugged her eldest brother, Jeong Hyung-gon (76).
In the summer of 1959, Myung-sook, who was 4 years old at the time, lost her way near Baedari Market in Incheon while following her younger brother on way to meet their father. She didn't know her address or last name, just that she was called "Myung-sook."
In the end, her name was changed to "Jin Myung-sook" after the priest's family name at a nursery, and she was eventually adopted by a nun in South Chungcheong Province. After the age of 40, she decided to try find her family despite having no memory of them and different surname.
She went on TV to try find her family but nothing came up. She registered her genes in 2019 on a police genetic database. The police's Missing Family Support Centre analysed her genes and found a man Jeong Hyung-sik (68) to be a close match through interview and genetic analysis.
Hyung-sik moved to Canada, but before going, registered his genes on the system in the hope of finding his long lost sister Myung-sook. A match came up recently, and through further tests and confirmations, the family relation was confirmed.
She met eldest brother Hyung-gon yesterday in Seoul, and connected with brother Hyung-sik via video call. He says he felt guilty "losing" her at market, prayed everyday to find her.
Myung-sook thanked police, says she'll live happily with her family for the rest of her life.
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