Tuesday, June 4, 2001

While the humanitarian crisis in North Korea has recently received some media attention, dangerous conditions within North Korea's borders have made detailed reporting difficult, and the true plight of these refugees, most hiding in China, is not widely known. On WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, THURSDAY, JUNE 6, AND FRIDAY, JUNE 7, ABC News "Nightline" (11:35 p.m. ET) will broadcast extensive portions of Kim Jung-eun's award-winning documentary, "Shadows and Whispers." These programs detail the terrible conditions many North Koreans refugees face as they struggle with illegally escaping with their families or trying to survive abject poverty and famine. Since 1995 close to 2 million North Koreans have starved to death-many citizens see escape from their homeland as the only chance for survival, risking arrest and death to live as illegal immigrants in the shadow of Chinese society. Korean producer Kim shot most of this documentary in secret, interviewing several North Koreans who have made the journey from their home across the Tumen River into Yanji, China. The series opens on Wednesday, June 5 , as Kim follows a family living in a cave in the forest, where they scavenge for food each day. One by one the children have been sent to a Chinese orphanage, the desperate parents best hope of providing better nutrition and an education. In this broadcast the couple faces the painful, heartbreaking decision to send away their last and youngest child. On Thursday, June 6, Kim talks with a couple who have fled into China and are hiding under the floorboards in the apartment of a Chinese family covertly protecting them. They have given all their savings to smugglers who have promised to bring their only child out of North Korea to join them in Yanji, and they are terrified of being caught by government authorities or bounty hunters. If they are forced to return to North Korea, they may be fined, beaten, imprisoned in labor camps, or even face execution. On Friday, June 7, the program focuses on a group of young boys begging and stealing money in China to help their families trapped in North Korea. Many of the North Korean refugees are children. Having watched close friends and family members die, they survive by begging on the streets of Yanji and sleeping where they can, though in places that are rarely safe from human traffickers and thieves. These powerful stories are part of Kim Jung-eun's documentary film, which has won a number of awards including the Australian Walkley Award for best international journalism and the grand prize of the SAIS-Novartis International Journalism Awards last year. This "Nightline" three-part series will be its American television debut. Ted Koppel is the anchor and managing editor of "Nightline." Tom Bettag and Leroy Sievers are the executive producers. "Nightline" airs at 11:35 p.m. weeknights on the ABC Television Network.

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