Abai village

Abai Village is a small village of North Korean refugees located in Cheong-Ho District, Sokcho City, Gangwon Province, South Korea. The residents of the village consist mainly of refugees originally hailing from Hamgyeong Province in North Korea who escaped south during the Korean War.

History

In 1950, as the North Korean forces pushed Southward on their mission of unification they were joined by a force of 300,000 Chinese troops from the People\'s Volunteer Army. This influx of military force proved to much for the UN coalition forces and led to what is known as the 1.4 Retreat (Korean Wiki) as they retreated to the Southeast to the Busan area. It was during this retreat that a group of around 6000 refugees from Hamgyeong Province in the Northeastern part of the country escaped south and set up shelters on a sandbar in Sokcho. Conditions upon their arrival were far from ideal, as the tides upon the sandbar would often leave parts of it incredibly muddy and cause water damage to the homes. Originally the refugees intended to stay only temporarily and head back to their homes in Hamgyeong Province, but the outcome of the war made their stay much more permanent than expected. As the country was divided along the 38th Parallel, they residents of the village found themselves unable to return home. Most of the residents lived out the rest of their lives in the village or other parts of South Korea, but there have been a few that have applied for residency in the North so that they can return home.