For the next forty years, they lived in exile. In 1985, the Japanese government offered transit rights and funding for the repatriation of the original group of Sakhalin Koreans; however, only 1,500 of them returned to South Korea in the next two decades. The vast majority of Koreans of all generations chose instead to stay on Sakhalin.
For forty more years, they lived in exile. In 1985, the Japanese government offered transit and financial support for the original group of Sakhalin Koreans to return; however, only 1,500 of them returned to South Korea over the next two decades. The vast majority of all generations opted to stay on Sakhalin.