Survivors of Seongam Academy fight to regain confidence, confront past

ANSAN, Gyeonggi Province — More than four decades after Seongam Academy shut its doors, the long road to healing has only recently begun for its survivors. Cheon Jong-su, 69, who spent six years and eight months confined in the notorious facility, has carried the trauma with him ever since. “Thinking about the past has made not just me, but all of the survivors cry a lot,” he said. “We try to forget, but the memories keep coming back. It’s still very painful.” What began as a fight for recognition of the truth has since evolved into a struggle for a full state apology and the complete implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) recommendations, following its comprehensive investigation into the case. A legacy rooted in colonial control Korea’s dark history of institutionalizing children labeled as “vagrants” and their systemic abuse in group confinement facilities dates back to the 1910-45 Japanese colonial period. Amid the influx of rural migrants to cities and rising urban poverty, the governor-general issued ordinances in 1923 and 1942 that emWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times