Korean evacuees recall chaos, fear on their way out of Sudan

Chaos and fear gripped South Korean evacuees on their return home, a journey which was not easy.

Kim Hyun-wook, a 32-year-old international aid worker, was in the middle of the crossfire for the past 10 days until the South Korean government reached out to him as part of a rescue operation that ended Tuesday.

At first, Kim thought he could stay safe inside his home in Sudan, although he heard the news about the conflict. That hope soon faded with the exchange of gunfire right in front of his house the next day. Soon, the electricity supply was cut off. The sound of gunfire intensified day by day. He could not even peer outside his house.

"I heard the sound of bombs exploding. I had problems with poor internet connection. ... But I had faith that I would be rescued," Kim told reporters at the Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Kim was one of 28 evacuees who returned to Korea on Tuesday afternoon.

After government officials spotted Kim and began rescue operations, Kim had to make his way through checkpoints and was inspected by armed guards.

"I'm glad that we came back home safe without being under attack," Kim said.

Kim, however, was worried because he had a number of coworkers who were still in Sudan.

For Korean Ambassador to Sudan Namgoong Hwan, collecting all the Korean nationals scattered across the war-torn country was a daunting task.

He used social networks to identify the location of the evacuees, despite the internet connection growing weaker and weaker.

The rescuers had to take alternative, often indirect routes to reach them. What led to the success of this mission was "our determination to do our utmost" to ensure the safety of the evacuees, the ambassador said.

"There was no returning without collecting all of the evacuees," he told reporters. "We've used all available means to keep track of their whereabouts."

The ambassador even recounted that his private cook made more than 100 rolls of gimbap and shared them with evacuees. It took 36 hours to travel from the Sudanese capital of Khartoum to Port Sudan -- taking a detour of over 1,170 kilometers by land.

Finally, the moment came when the evacuees could breathe a sigh of relief.

"Upon seeing the plane in front of us, the evacuees and I felt relieved. My heart was filled with strong emotions," the ambassador told reporters.

By Son Ji-hyoung and Joint Press Corps (consnow@heraldcorp.com)