Korea is the world’s only divided country.

There’re people in this land who haven’t seen their families in 70 years, less have any knowledge on whether their families’re living or dead. Their loved ones’re a few kilometers away, and yet their hands are tied.

As of 2015, the number of people in Korea that have been separated by war is estimated at 66,289. Of them, 81.6% are over the age of 70.

These people don’t have much longer left to live. Their last wish is seeing the faces of their loved ones one last time before they die. Yet, there is nothing they can do but yearn for their families as they gaze upon old, faded photographs. With each passing year, they realize they’re running out of time. To that end, an idea was developed to bring some measure of comfort to those who’ve long been weary of the wait.

We placed phone calls to over 2,000 people who were separated from their families during the Korean War to determine how many still had photographs of their families living in North Korea. We narrowed down the candidates and visited them at their homes. Twenty-three respondents had actual photographs we could use, and these photographs were delivered to KIST (Korea Institute of Science and Technology). Using 3D age progression software, KIST created images of the current likenesses of the missing family members by predicting what they must look like today. We then provided the computer graphic design work to produce photographs of the families from both South and North Korea. These unique photographs, together with the stories of the families who have been separated for over 70 years, were featured in an exhibition that was viewed not only by the separated families and senior citizens, but by young people as well.