L.A. Times on Rimjingang

Rimjingang was recently established in Japan, and trains and equips North Koreans as journalists to go back into their homeland to cover the news that other media can’t:

The footage, taken surreptitiously from a speeding motorcycle, was jarring: It showed the Soonchun Vinylon factory, which many defectors claim has been secretly used to produce lethal chemicals, including nerve gas. But the video showed a deserted complex slouching forlornly on a weed-strewn stretch of countryside. The experts sat wide-eyed. They had heard rumors of the factory’s fate, but this was their first real evidence.

Not only is this newsworthy, it’s heroic. Courage is knowing that if you’re caught, Bill Clinton isn’t coming to get you, and his wife isn’t going to say a word on your behalf. Founder Jiro Ishimaru also reported from inside North Korea before realizing that here was only so much he could do to get the story:

“I realized that foreigners couldn’t really report on anything significant with so many eyes monitoring them,” he said. “The story is complex. It needs to be told by the people who live it.”

In time, Ishimaru met North Korean defectors in China who said they wanted to tell the story of their impoverished country. But none had the skills to do so. So Ishimaru started a journalist training program. Working with volunteers, he provided aspiring reporters with surveillance cameras and offered lessons on how to film without getting caught — often conducting exercises in crowded Chinese markets.

The students — ranging in age from 20 to 50 — learned how to approach people without raising suspicion, how to ask questions without appearing intrusive. Lessons in hand, they returned to North Korea, later stealing back to China only to deliver their stories. [L.A. Times, John M. Glionna]

I wish some of the South Koreans who are still chopping their fingers off in front of the Japanese embassy over the crimes of the past would do something as constructive this Japanese man is doing about the crimes of the present. Coming soon: an English edition. I can hardly wait for this. Of course, there are now a number of great services (see sidebar) providing reporting from inside North Korea, mostly from regular contacts and refugees who aren’t journalists and aren’t equipped with video cameras.