[News Today] AID FOR MINERS, NURSES IN GERMANY

[LEAD]
Four years have passed since laws were enacted to honor Korean miners and nurses in Germany for their hard work and sacrifice for the Korean economy. Yet, tangible initiatives to better their conditions remain absent. We bring you their stories from Germany.

[REPORT]
Chae Su-woong first stepped on German soil fifty-three years ago.

The 25-year-old man who dug through thousand-kilometer-long mine shafts is now about to turn eighty.

Chae Su-woong/ Former Miner sent to Germany
I must have been exhausted. I found myself bloody in bed. It turns out I had a nosebleed.

Everyday was a struggle back then. But the thought of his family back home helped him endure the laborious hardship.

Chae Su-woong/ Former Miner sent to Germany
I sent all my paychecks back home. (Why did you do that?) So that my family and siblings could live well.

In fact, the money sent by some 19,000 Korean miners and nurses in Germany made up a significant portion of Korea's foreign currency income at the time.

About 7,000 miners and nurses ended up settling down in Germany. They are all in their 70s now.

Kim Kwang-suk has worked at a rural hospital in Germany since she was 24 years old. But it isn't easy for her to visit Korea even for a short while.

Kim Kwang-suk/ Former Nurse sent to Germany
Both my parents passed away and I can't ask my siblings to help me.

Four years ago, the Korean government legislated a set of laws recognizing their sacrifice and hard work.

But support and commemorative projects prompted by these new laws started just two years ago and hasn't produced any noticeable results.

The Korean expat community in Germany asserts that medical cost assistance and other tangible support should be provided.

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