A Special Request for Washington-Area Viewers: Help Us Get ‘Seoul Train’ on Prime Time
Every person who genuinely cares about the suffering of others–for whom a passion for human rights is really about the victims themselves–should see Seoul Train:
SEOUL TRAIN is a gripping documentary exposé into the life-and-death struggle faced by North Korean refugees as they flee their homeland through China, which does not recognize their legal status as refugees. Combining verité and hidden camera footage with personal stories and interviews, the film brings to light this humanitarian tragedy of a neglected people risking–and often losing–their lives for freedom.
Your correspondent is not a sappy person known for his weepy responses to movies, but I fought back tears when I watched Seoul Train. I couldn’t bring myself to watch something so emotionally powerful again [my own review is here; an excellent Cinemarati profile here]. The Chinese government also recognizes the film’s emotional power, to the extent of sending out a fax on Embassy letterhead in a futile effort to have Seoul Train banned from a Ukrainian film festival.
On Tuesday, December 13th, many more people will see Seoul Train. It will air on “Independent Lens,” on PBS’s WETA that night, but not until 10 p.m., when most area residents will be asleep, restoring their minds for the grueling Beltway commute the next day. That is too bad. It is good that WETA will air this award-winning film at all, but it is unfortunate that Seoul Train won’t get the prime-time slot one suspects it would get if it were about, say, Abu Ghraib. And arguing the vastness by which North Korea should dwarf Abu Ghraib on the world’s list of moral priorities is as futile as golfing your way through the Sahara. Even if you never miss a stroke, the sand will only seem more dense each time.
Here, then, is my request to you. Wait until December 13th. Watch this beautifully done but agonizing film if you can bear it. After you see the film, then see what happened to the people in the film. Then, write to WETA and ask them to air Seoul Train again, this time, in prime time.
Here is the message I will send:
Mr. Dalton Delan
EVP and Chief Programming Officer
WETA, Washington D.C.
ddelan@weta.comDear Mr. Delan:
Thank you for airing the award-winning documentary Seoul Train on December 13th. This film has done something that few programs on any station have the capacity to do–to inform viewers about a humanitarian catastrophe on a scale greater than any other in the world today. I am always astonished that the events in North Korea have attracted so little media coverage. And while I commend WETA for airing this important film, I am deeply disappointed that you chose to air it in such an inconvenient time slot, when far too few will have had the chance to see it.
I urge you to air Seoul Train again at the soonest date possible–this time, in a prime time slot. Your doing so may well save lives. As you may know, the North Korean Human Rights Act, which became law last year, included provisions to facilitate asylum claims by North Korean refugees. Yet U.S. embassies abroad continue to turn away North Korean refugees, and not one North Korean has been granted asylum. Your decision to air Seoul Train during prime time could well arouse decisive public pressure and force our own government to respect the law–a law that requires us to extend a hand of salvation to people whose lives are in constant peril.
Steadily but much too slowly, the issue of North Korea’s deplorable human rights record is gaining the attention of citizens of many nations. PBS would be providing an invaluable public service by further informing its viewers about the cruelty of this regime–an issue that is both overshadowed by and which shares a common root with North Korea’s lust for weapons of greater destructive power.
Please air SEOUL TRAIN during prime time! Thank you for your consideration.
Don’t forget to tell them where you live and remind them that you’re a viewer. Futile? Actually, no. Suzanne Scholte of the North Korean Freedom Coalition reports that this method has proven effective in the past.
If you don’t live in the Washington area, that shouldn’t stop you from taking action. You can also encourage your own local PBS affiliate or the PBS Ombudsman (Web form here) to show Seoul Train early and often (the banner ad on that page as of 12/10/05 is somewhat encouraging!). Please take just a few moments to help the people of North Korea by helping to bring their message to American voters. Thank you.