Vanguard | April 25, 2006 | 5 comments

Defectors

Adam_Yamaguchi

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Adam Yamaguchi meets with North Korean defectors who escaped from North Korea to South Korea.
  1. groups:
    On Current TV,   Intro,   Vanguard,   Current International,   1 more
  2. tags:
    On Current TV,  Intro,  Freedom,  North Korea,  6 more
  3. credits:
    Adam_Yamaguchi Starring, Adam_Yamaguchi Producer, dgahr Editor, more
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5 comments // Defectors // Video

  • derk
    • 0
      derk  

    • The heroic journey these people have made (and continue to make) is inspirational. A reminder to all that freedom is not free.

    • 3 years ago
  • UWAZell
  • lauraling
  • Adam_Yamaguchi
    • 0
      Adam_Yamaguchi  

    • When I think back to when I was in South Korea to shoot this piece, I'm immediately taken back to the classroom where the defectors sang and spoke to one another. As I looked around the room at all the different faces I couldnt help but think about the past they'd all left behind. I noticed the suppression of emotion struck me most -- as if these people had been conditioned to emote only on command.

      The journey from North to South is a grueling, circuitous, dangerous one that takes them from rushing rivers to dark, cold hideouts in China --- it sometimes takes years. And I noticed that all the people in the room were young children, their frail mothers and grandmothers whose appearance betrayed their determination to find freedom.

    • 4 years ago
  • lauraling
    • 0
      lauraling  

    • In 2002, I had a rare opportunity to go on a police-guided tour of North Korea. The experience was unreal. I was there with Mitch, an avid jogger, who was only allowed to jog at 6am (before there were people on the streets), between two light posts outside of our hotel, with a police guard watching him the entire time. His jogging route was a great metaphor for the country and its lack of freedoms. After our one week tour, we headed to South Korea--one of the most wired countries on the planet. So we literally went from one of the most isolated spots in the world, to one of the world's most modern and bustling nations. It took a couple of days for me to adjust. After watching Adam's pod on Korean defectors, I can't even imagine what it must be like to have lived in North Korea, risked one's life to escape over the most militarized border in the world, to start a new life in the bustling south.

    • 4 years ago

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