| Description |
1 online resource (streaming video file) (45 min. 2 sec.) ; 271346111 bytes |
| Summary |
Two North Korean defectors are smuggled across borders by a human smuggler who promises them a safe escape. Will they survive the perilous 5,000 km journey to freedom?North Korea has been called the Hermit Kingdom and for good reason. Few people are allowed to travel in or out of the country and even fewer will talk about life inside the country where dissent is met with brutality, torture and death.However, we do know that each year thousands of North Koreans risk their lives to escape the brutal regime that runs the country of their birth. Most of the defectors escape into China, and from there they must undertake a dangerous journey to the country's southern borders to escape into Laos, Thailand and ultimately, for many, on to South Korea.Next on Four Corners, a startling documentary tells the story of a group of defectors that includes two young North Korean women, Sook-ja and Yong-hee. They have paid a people smuggler, who goes by the name "Dragon", to take them on the journey from northern to southern China and on to freedom.Filmmaker Ann Shin not only tells their story; she accompanies with them undercover as they travel by bus, car and train; dodging authorities who will arrest them and send them back to North Korea. It's a dangerous trip, made all the more intense when we hear the backgrounds of the smuggler and the people he is helping.Their perilous journey reflects the reality of tens of thousands of North Koreans currently hiding in China. Filming undercover, Ann Shin gains intimate access to these three individuals in this fly on the wall documentary, where she explores universal questions about human rights, smuggling and the pursuit of freedom |
| Event |
Broadcast 2013-06-17 at 20:30:00 |
| Notes |
Classification: NC |
| Subject |
Autonomy (Psychology)
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Defectors.
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Refugees.
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Travel -- Safety measures.
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Human trafficking.
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Korea (North)
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| Form |
Streaming video
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| Author |
O'Brien, Kerry, host
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Shin, Ann, reporter
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