Actor Im Hyun-sik [Newsis]
Actor Im Hyun-sik [Newsis]

Actor Im Hyun-sik has shared the story of how he was separated from his father during the Korean War and only learned of his fate years later.

According to Star Today, Im appeared on MBN's "Kim Joo-ha's Day and Night," which aired Saturday, and recalled memories of his father, who had worked as a newspaper reporter.

"My father worked at a state-run newspaper. The Korean War broke out when I was six," Im said. "About seven or eight journalists went to North Korea to cover the war, and even after it ended, they simply could not come back."

His mother's life was equally scarred by the war. Im said she was interrogated about his father's whereabouts and spent the rest of her life waiting for her husband to return.

A chance to learn what had become of his father eventually came through efforts to arrange reunions for separated families.

"Through a broadcasting station, I found out that my father had three sons and a daughter," Im said, revealing that his father had remarried in North Korea and started a new family.

Even so, Im said he ultimately could not bring himself to travel north to see him.

"When I heard that news, I just couldn't go to North Korea," he said. "I couldn't bring him back with me, and I couldn't very well say I'd go live by his side — it was an impossible situation."

He said he told his mother about the three sons and a daughter, but waited a long time before showing her a family photo of his father's new family.

Im made his debut as a talent recruited by MBC in 1969 and has appeared in numerous productions, including "Three Families Under One Roof," "Heo Jun" and "Jewel in the Palace." He most recently appeared in the film "Hope," playing a character named Haesul.


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