Military Descendant

[Anchor Lead]

A descendant of the esteemed Joseon-era military man, General Nam I, has come to South Korea for the first time in his life to search for his stepsister who had escaped from North Korea. Here's the story of how Kamen Nam, a Korean-Bulgarian professor, lived through the Cold War and separation of his family.

[Pkg]

59-year-old Korean-Bulgarian Kamen Nam is the 19th-generation descendant of Joseon period General Nam I.

[Soundbite] "Oh, my goodness. Thank you."

On his first visit to South Korea, Kamen Nam had a tearful reunion with his half-sister, who escaped from North Korea 17 years ago.

[Soundbite] Kamen Nam(Gen. Nam I's 19th Generation Descendant) : "As a man can't stand on one leg, only on two, I'm extremely happy to have met my family."

Nam's heartbreaking story dates back to the period immediately after the end of the Korean War. Nam was born to a Korean father, who was studying in Bulgaria at the time, and a Bulgarian mother. Nam's father returned to North Korea in 1959, leaving his wife and two year-old son behind in Bulgaria. Shortly after, Nam's mother volunteered to work at the Bulgarian Embassy in North Korea and was reunited with her husband, but prejudice against her as a foreigner forced her to return to Bulgaria alone two years later. Nam's father remarried in North Korea before passing away in 1989. His stepsister escaped from North Korea ten years later and settled down in South Korea. The sister, who had heard about her older brother while her father was still alive, desperately searched for his whereabouts, leading to a reunion after 50 years.

[Soundbite] Nam Yul-ju(Kamen Nam's Stepsister) : "Thank you. I'm so happy to have a brother."

Kamen Nam is visiting Korea for 7 days at the invitation of Gyeonggi-do Province. During his stay, he plans to pay his respects at General Nam I's tomb and visit the DMZ.