By Soh Ji-young
Staff Reporter

In a rare show of unity, organizations from all walks of life in South Korea are joining relief efforts to help North Korean victims in last week’s devastating train blast.

A coalition of about 90 Seoul-based civic groups and labor unions, including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, on Monday launched a fundraising campaign to aid the victims of the explosion in Ryongchon, which killed at least 161 people and injured 1,300.

``If South Koreans unite to support North Korean victims, they will help restore strength and hope. We hope that through our concerted efforts, the accident will pave the way for reconciliation between the two Koreas,’’ the coalition said in a statement.

The groups have started fundraising drives in Seoul, Pusan and other major cities across the country to deliver $100,000 worth of medical supplies and emergency aid to the North through a delegation to be dispatched Thursday to Dandong, a Chinese border city located about 50 km from Ryongchon.

Another coalition of 30 international and Korean relief groups on Tuesday will kick off a three-month fundraising campaign to request businesses and individuals to make donations for the North Korean cause. A five-member delegation will leave for Dandong on Tuesday to deliver 300 million won worth of relief supplies, representatives of the coalition said.

Conservative groups normally critical of the Pyongyang regime have also decided to take part in the movement by jointly staging a fundraising concert in Seoul later this week.

Although they had conducted humanitarian efforts for North Korean refugees, this is the first time they are attempting to send relief supplies directly to the communist country.

``We will help them, but only after we confirm that the supplies are going to the victims,’’ said Shin Hye-shik, head of a conservative online newspaper called Independent.

``It is time for North Korea to prove to the world that it is changing and open up to civic groups so that we can give direct help,’’ he said.

In a separate move, doctors and pharmacists are also combining efforts to aid victims by providing medical and financial aid.

A total of six medical organizations, including the Korean Medical Association and the Korean Pharmaceutical Association, have decided to send 110 doctors, nurses and other medical crew as well as $1 million in support funds.

Members of Hanchongnyon, a progressive student activist group, also vowed to start a campaign to send medical supplies to the North.

jysoh@koreatimes.co.kr