NORTH KOREA
Shadows And Whispers
A 52’ Minute Documentary
– October 2000
NB: THIS SCRIPT REFERS TO THE ENGLISH VERSION ONLY (THE ENGLISH AND INTERNATIONAL VERSIONS HAVE DIFFERENT TIME CODES)
Pretitles:
"Since 1995 more than 2 million people have died as a result of the famine
in North Korea."
"As many as 800 North Koreans have crossed illegally into China in search
of food."
"Most of them returned with whatever supplies they could bring to their
starving families".
"This is the story of some of those who chose to stay in China."
"Shadows and Whispers."
"The struggle of North Korea's Refugees."
__________________________________________
01:47
V/O
The mountains of North-East China.
01:56
An hour's walk into these forests, a family is living in hiding...under
the earth.
02:15
Kim Jung Su and Kim Jung He dug this hole themselves...and have been
hiding here from the police with their young son for the past 4 months.
Their crime, in the eyes of China and North Korea, is simply that they
left their famine-stricken homeland to look for food.
02:38
This is their fourth hide-out in the mountains since they started their
journey.
Even here, surrounded by caution and living in fear, they tried to keep
some sense of a normal family life.
02.52
-How do you catch big rabbits?
-Rabbits?
-What do you catch with big traps?
-Pigs.
-How do you catch pigs?
-Just like rabbits.
03:07
Chinese police are paid a bounty to capture refugees like this...and return
them to NK.
The Kims know that if they are sent back, they will be labelled as
traitors and put to death.
03.19
-Dad… do pigs walk around?
-No they run around.
-And sometimes they walk?
-Sometimes they run, sometimes they walk. Just like you!
03:42
The underground hide-out is only a few kms from the North-Korean border
that the Kims crossed illegally just over a year ago.
04:02
-Though we don’t have a house, living like this in hiding at least we eat rice, which is rarely available in NK, even for well off families. We just hope we don’t get caught.
- Everything else is fine, except for the fear and distress.
04:22
When the Kim family first came to China, they had 3 children...and Jung He was pregnant with the fourth.
04:31
But hiding in the forest was more difficult than they had expected ...and
one by one they have had to give their children away.
04:43
First a baby boy who was born here in hiding...who was given to a Chinese
family.
04:53
-I was sick for a month after I gave the baby away, I used to go outside and wail. The girls cried with me. I wanted to take rat poison so Dad hid it, I even thought of hanging myself. Now, after all that, months have gone by and days have gone by….I don’t think of suicide anymore but I still think of my baby.
05:26
Then, 4 months later, they reluctantly handed their 2 daughters to an
orphanage ..the only chance the children had of ever receiving an education.
The only child left now, Young Chen is 5 years old. Malnourishment from the famine in North Korea has stunted his growth.
05:50
-Shall I carry you on my back? There are wild boars out there.
- We don’t have to go now.
-Are you sure?
05:57
Like his sisters, Jung Chen will soon need an education...something his
parents cannot possibly give him, living in this hide-out.
The Kims soon face the agonizing decision of giving this last child up, as well.
06:24
In the town of How long (???), down the mountains from the Kim's hide-out,
there are new arrivals from North Korea.
06:34
These children have been walking for 3 days, and have come to this church
hall in search of food.
06:41
-How many times have you been to China?
-This is our first time.
- First time?
- Did you come together?
-Are you all friends?
-Yes.
-Did you decide to come together?
-Mum came here three years ago.
-Your Mum has been here in China for three years now?
-Three years.
-You haven’t found her yet?
-No.
-And what about your Dad……
-He died last year
-Last year in March.
-Your brother died too?
-Yes.
- How did he die?
- He starved to death.
07:22
- And how did your father die?
- He starved
- What happened to your house then?
- We didn’t have a house.
-Not anymore.
07:41
These children are typical of many refugees who come here...afraid, desperately hungry their bodies malnourished and damaged from their journey. And each of them tell the same story, They were driven here by the famine.
08:02
-Did many people starve to death in your town?
-Yes
- Others escape to China or left their homes
- Have you seen people die?
-Yes
- Where?
- In my country.
- In your village?
-Yes
-Did you know them?
- Not really.
-You didn’t know them?
- How did they die?
-They starved, they just died lying there.
08:42
As many as 40 thousand illegal North -Korean refugees are now living in
China.
Many live on the streets...begging for money and food.
09:02
They sleep where they can...this boy on a roof.
Others, in the all-night video room at the end of this corridor.
09:23
- How did you get those burns?
- How did I get them? They are cigarette burns.
- Who did that
- Mun-Chul
- Who’s he?
-This guy….
- Why did he do it?
- He told us to bring ten yuan a day.
- If we don’t, he bullies us by beating and burning us.
-If you don’t bring money?
-Yes
-He leaves you alone if you do?
-Yes
-How do you know him?
-How did I meet him? At this church, There as a North Korean kid called Yun-chul
10:06
-He hung around with three chinese kids.
-They were going to sell me.
-At first they were going to sell someone else. They took me to the plaza by the railway station.
-They were told I was too big so they couldn’t sell me, they wanted little kids. They said to bring small kids.
-There were three brothers and the youngest was very small. They sold him more money and thats how they lived.
-They sold kids?
-They sell kids, the kids escape.
10:46
- Who do they sell them to?
-To people somewhere inland, 2000 yuan per kid. They sold him for money, and that’s how they lived.
-What did they do with them
-I don’t know they never told me.
11:08
If there is any safety or security for North-Korean children in China, it can be found in places like this: An underground orphanage run by ethnic North Korean families.
11:27
-What do you usually do here?
-Girls usually play with baby dolls.
-What baby?
-We’re girls so…
-A doll?
-Yes.
-I play…with nothing
11:41
These children have all been brought here by North Korean families who can no longer feed, cloth or educate them while living illegally in China.
11.50
-Do you play alone?
-Yes.
-Because you’re the only boy?
-He plays with a toy car.
-Can you show it to me? The toy car
-Where did you get it?
-She gave it to me
12:09
But even here, there is a risk these children will be found.
12:15
Refuges like this are unregistered and illegal. Their owners face fines and imprisonment if they are discovered harbouring anyone from North Korea.
12:33
-How old are you?
-Me?
-I’m nine yeas old.
-What’s your name?
-Lee Eun-Kyong
-How long have you been here?
-A few days…
-A few days?
-It’s a few months.
-A few months
-I see.
12:54
-Do you like it here?
-yes.
-Where’s Mum and Dad?
-Mum is dead.
-Father is here in China…but far away from here.
-Far away?
13:09
-Did your mum die in North Korea?
-Yes.
-And your brothers and sisters?
-They all died
-Did they how?
-They starved to death
13:23
-Where is your Dad now?
-He’s somewhere else.
-What does he do?
-He works.
-Do you get to see him sometimes?
-No I don’t.
-Do you hear from him?
-No.
-What about your Mum?
-Mum’s dead.
-Where?
-In North Korea
13:53
-How did she die?
-She starved.
-Starved to death?
-Yes.
-You came with your Dad and little brother?
-Yes
-Did you have a funeral for your Mum?
-Did you bury your Mum?
-I don’t know.
-How old were you then?
-Say you don’t remember.
-When I was ten.
-How old are you now?
-I’m ten.
14:39
-So she died just this year?
-Yes.
14:45
These children are never allowed outside...even to play, in fear of attracting the attention of Chinese police. Their lives for years to come may be spent in secret.
15:06
-This is rice, flour, corn, Medicine, soap and sugar.
15:19
These provisions are for North Korean who come to china looking for >food to take back to their starving families.
15.26
-Can I see what’s inside?
-Sure.
15:30
But even this humanitarian effort is forbidden,
The organizers, an underground aid network of private individuals, ethnic
North Korean families and the church, all face fines or imprisonment if they are caught.
15:50
-There’s sugar, aspirin, soap and beans. And this is corn and this is rice.
-It’s 20kg per package?
-Yes.
-One package per person?
-Yes.
**** NB:MAN’S FACE AT 16.14 (HE’S STANDING ON LEFT) MUST BE PIXELATED/ DISGUISED
16:15
-Don’t the Chinese authorities search every room, when they check the church?
-No, but we can’t keep these packs in one place very long. We have to move them soon.
-What do you tell the Chinese authorities if they discover these?
-If we say it’s for North Koreans, we’ll be shut down. So we say this is for poor people. There are a lot of poor people around this area
17:02
Piano song
17:12
Amongst those who are being helped by this community, are Su He and Han Jin.
They came here 12 months ago, leaving their young daughter in North Korea.
At the time, it was too risky to bring it with them.
They are now planning to her smuggled across the border to join them in China.
17:40
-What did you tell your child hen you left?
-I just put her to bed.
18:31
Su He cannot risk returning to NK herself. She, too, is faced with the death penalty for leaving the country.
18.40
-I don’t even know if she is still alive. I hear that the situation there is worse now, I can only hope. I know that it’s not just our family that have been torn apart. There are many like us. There are many people here who saw their children die of starvation, but we’re still alive. We can’t do anything for those who are already dead.
19:33
When Su He and Han Jin first came to the city, they were living in this room...only 3 meters long and 2 meters wide. But in the next few days, they will leave this shelter to run from suspicious neighbours.
19:52
-I believe that, someday in the future, the hardship will be justified. My family will be together one day and we’ll talk about the hardship we’ve endured. I cling to that hope.
20:23
In their mountain hide-out, Jung He and Jung Su listen to a radio they bought with money given to them by the family who took their new-born boy. The broadcast comes from SK, a simple radio drama. Listening to this station or anything from the south is forbidden in North Korea.
20:54
Jung Su is now working at a tobacco farm an hour's walk from his hide-out.
21:04
His labour there is illegal and he receives no payment. But he is compensated with a small amount of rice which he brings back to his family every three days or so.
21:21
For extra food, Jung Su makes traps to catch rabbits and birds.
21:36
He also trades the game for rice and vegetables at a local village.
21:51
-This is how you make the trap.
-You can set it near water tomorrow.
-You set it like that.
22:21
-When the birds come to drink they perch on a twig, and when they fly away their heads get caught. We caught many birds this way last year.
-You gently get it out and pluck its feathers.
-You grill it and goes into your tummy.
-I see.
-This is for you who shall I give this one to?
23:00
Since Jung Chen's sisters and infant brother went away, his parents are trying to keep a memory at least of the family.
23.08
- What about your sister?
-She can have this one.
-And this one
-That’s mine.
23:16
-What about your second sister?
-This…
-Shall we make this one for her?
-Yes.
-And your little brother?
-Lets give him one too.
-Which one? These are for your sisters…
23:36
But the break-up of the family has been traumatic. Young Chen has now taken to the cheeky habit of puffing on his father's cigarettes.
24:04
In the morning, the Kims prepare to leave their dug-out for a journey down the mountain to visit their daughters they handed to the orphanage 4 months ago.
24:36
-My girls asked me to wear pretty clothes when I visit them, So the other kids would think I as pretty.
-The older girl said that?
-They both did. They asked me to bring the baby and wrap him up well. They said, if he was still sick I wasn’t to bring him as they don’t ant him to die.
-They don’t know?
-They don’t know we gave him away. They think he’s still in hospital.
25:14
This is the last meal they had in the forest...before they moved to a new hide-out closer to the orphanage.
25:57
To lessen the risk of being caught, the Kims separate and take different routes down the mountain.
26:12
It will be their first-ever visit to a city...but the journey will also determine what will happen to the little boy...if they are going to hand him over to the orphanage, too.
26:34
In Yangje, Su He and Han Jin have now moved to yet another house...their fourth in 5 months.
Their plans to bring their daughter to China have now failed.. and the Chinese couriers they hired for the job are threatening their lives.
26:57
-I found two Chinese people and borrowed money and rice from someone. They went to the river taking the stuff with them. I had told them to hand over the money and rice and bring back my child, when they got there, they were asked to cross the river into North Korea because the river was too deep to cross.
27:30
-They crossed the Tuman River into North Korea where a security officer arrested one of them. It was a secret service officer who arrested that man. The guy who made it back told us hat happened. His companion was detained in North Korea because of us.
27:54
-One day a few guys came to see me. Had they been nice about us getting the guy out, of course I would have agreed. Instead they said “we’re going to kill you”.
28:16
As illegal immigrants here, this couple cannot even seek protection from the police.
Su He and Han Jin will try again to bring their baby daughter to China, but they need to save more money to pay more bribes. And while they wait for another opportunity, they are haunted by the horrors they left behind.
28:40
-Some people made sausages with human flesh and then sold them. They were caught and then executed, one boy was still a minor, 16 years old. They faked his age so they could execute him.
29:06
-He was very small because he was malnourished. We all saw the execution
It made me cry, I know it was a terrible crime, but imagine how hungry they must have been to do such a thing.
29:29
-That’s a pigs life, isn’t it? It’s worse than being an animal. Even animals…Dogs, birds and horses… work outside. I’m a human being >but I’m not allowed to go out I’m just stuck indoors. Sometimes I can’t tell if I’m an animal or human being. I don’t know anymore
29:58
In the street outside, Minho begs for money. It is now 8 months since he first came to China and huddled in this building, looking for food.
30:13
Since then he has been twice caught and put into a North-Korean labour camp but he and his friends escaped and crossed back into China.
30:28
-Did you get beaten a lot?
-Yes I was beaten a lot.
-Didn’t it hurt?
-It hurt.
-Did you steal too?
-No, I didn’t.
-What did you used to eat in North Korea?
-He used to steal cows.
-I used to feast on farm pickings.
-We’d steal cabbages.
-We were all thieves.
31:04
Anything to keep alive. Like many NK refugees, these boys move back and forth across the border risking arrest and more beating to bring money and food to their starving families. They are veterans of life-and-death border-crossings and they are barely in their teens.
31:26
-You can cross with 100 won but what if you get caught?
-caught?
-100 won wouldn’t be enough if you get caught.
-Those guards are desperate for any amount.
-They’ll take your money anyway if you get caught.
-Those military bastards wouldn’t let us go for so little money.
-Yeah, they would let you go. They’re all dying of hunger and it’s almost new year.
32:06
Tonight, the boys plan another return to NK. They will sneak back across the border with money for their families hidden inside them. The earnings from their begging on the street are carefully folded and wrapped in plastic...and tied...and sealed...ready to be swallowed.
33:02
-You chew gum and you wrap this in gum…to make it easier to swallow.
33:24
-Then you swallow it?
-How often have you done this?
-Just once.
-Did they come out ok?
-Yes.
-How many days did it take?
-Two days.
33:44
This is another of the boys who came to China 8 months ago.
33:50
-Did you make any money?
-No.
-No? didn’t anyone give you some money?
33.56
Man Su began his odyssee at this church...and now begs for money in the streets of Yangje.
34:12
-You earned all this?
-Yes.
34.21
Man Su's mother came to China before him and he has been looking for her ever since he arrived.
34:34
Tonight he borrowed a phone to call a restaurant where he believed she once worked.
34:42
-Hello is this Kundang restaurant?
-Kundang restaurant?
-Shh…
-What?
-Is the manager there?
-Please find the manager.
-Yes I’m the kid from North Korea.
-Remember my mother, Kim Han-Keum?
-I’m her son.
-Did you find her address?
-Has my mother called?
-She hasn’t come by? Not even once? She hasn’t called?
-Can you put us in touch?
35.54
-She said she’ll put us in touch…
-She’ll put you in touch?
-She said she will. She said she’s on a farm.
-Do you have to call back?
-Yes.
-She said to call every few days.
36:19
Man Su now suspects his mother has now been sold to slavery and now he may never see her again.
36.46
-How do you know they sold your mother?
-It’s for sure she worked there. A women told me she was at a restaurant, I don’t know whether the restaurant sold her, but it’s been a while since she disappeared.
37:13
Kim Jung He and Kim Jung Su have now arrived in the city and are sheltering in a safe-house provided by a NK aid worker.
37:25
Jung Su's rabbit traps have provided the meat for the lunch. The feast is prepared unlike anything this family has ever seen...then, the long-awaited reunion with their daughters.
38:12
The children are shy and tentative at first.
38:20
-You’ve had your hair cut. You all look prettier.
_They’ve put on weight.
-Your brother said “mummy, look at my eyes, I’m crying.”
-”Why are you crying?” I miss them.
-When are they coming back?”
-”Soon”.
-”I hope so.”
38.47
-She looks like her dad, this one like Mum.
-Yes, that’s right.
-At bed time last night they asked about the boy.
-”How soon will he be there?”
-Did the girls know we were coming?
-No, we didn’t tell them.
-Did they tell you this morning?
-Yes
-Were you happy?
39.29
-Why aren’t you saying anything?
-How can I open your mouth?
-Do I need an opener?
-Wow, it opens.
39:43
Gradually, the girls begin to warm to their parents...and the stories from
the orphanage begin to emerge.
39.52
-Kids make fun of her.
-Who does that?
-Teases?
-No.
-Then who does what?
-What do you mean, the kids make fun of her?
39.59 *** NB: FACE THAT COMES INTO VISION ON RIGHT HAND SIDE MUST BE PIXELATED/ DISGUISED
-What do they do?
-They hit her.
-Do they hit her?
-Didn’t I say to tell the teacher if there were problems?
-Did you tell the teacher? Did you?
-Do you remember me saying that to you?
-Did they hurt? They didn’t hurt, right? They were just playing.
-I’m here, Mummy’s here. We’ll live near you.
40:43
-When you want us to see you, we’ll come right away.
-Isn’t it nice to study?
-You like that don’t you?
-what? they pinched me.
-they pinched you? Did you tell your teacher?
-Did you misbehave?
-Did you?
-If you misbehaved then it’s only fair. If you did that’s what happens. Stop crying.
-Don’t cry
-Don’t cry my baby…baby don’t cry…
-Is it because you are happy?
-Stop crying.
-You want chewing gum? I’ll buy you more next time.
-Here you are, Why are you crying?
-I want a reason. I want to hear the real reason.
42:43
The children will sleep here with their parents. But in the morning, they must return to the orphanage.
43:00
-I feel sad that we only have one night with our children.
43:08
But this visit has at least shown the Kims that their daughters have been better fed and educated than they could ever have been in the mountains...and it has helped them to make up their minds to send the boy away as well.
43:25
-I’ve lived in hiding for so long…I should be more brave, I’ve hidden in the mountains for so long. I’m terrified at the thought of being caught. I’m just scared.
44:19 v/o
In the morning, Jung Su and Jung He ask for a photograph to record the family together.
44:35
It is the first time a family portrait has been taken...it may also be the last.
44:42
-Don’t move just look at the camera.
-move back against the wall.
-Is he ok like this?
-That’s fine.
-Stay there and look at me.
-I don’t want to.
-Don’t leave me.
-we’re not leaving.
-We’re not leaving we are only taking a photo.
-I’ll be right here
-Look over here
-There, there…
-Mummy’s not leaving, I’ll stay right here. Look over here.
-Move this way and soothe him, We’ll go home after the photo.
-I want to go home.
-Okay, lets go.
-Lets just take one.
-Take it, just take it.
-I want to go home, I want to go home.
46.24 ***MAN HOLDING CAR DOOR OPEN MUST HAVE PIXELATED/ DISGUISED FACE THROUGHOUT THIS SCENE & CAR NUMBER PLATE MUST ALSO BE HIDDEN AS CAR DRIVES AWAY
46:28
But instead his parents take him to a car bound for the orphanage...and the Kim family is broken apart.
47:25
- If only we could have gone with him to the gate.
-I wanted to be strong…but this time…
-Can’t we go there in the car? Just to the gate? It wouldn’t be so bad if we parted without crying. When the girls left I knew it was for their own good, I walked away without crying… but this is so painful. If only we could have seen him to the gate it wouldn’t hurt so much.
49:03
The escape from NK has torn hundreds of thousands of families apart.
49:17
Many who have fled know they may never see their parents, their brothers or their sisters again. But his is a story of courage and survival...and here, at least, these boys can eat.
49:37
Tonight, this group finds fleeting happiness...moments like this, they have never known in NK... though even their songs are part of the propaganda that still come so
easily to them...whether they believe the words or not.
49:57
-Our father, Marshal Kim jong-il, Oh father…oh father…Oh our father.
-Did you sing that a lot in North korea?
-Father? What kind of father is that?
-A crappy father!
-What makes a good father?
-He can’t even feed porridge to his starving children.
-Some father!
50:37
But there is one song this evening which the boys do believe in...a song familiar to all Koreans...from North and South. It is an anthem of hope...that the running from poverty and hiding from the law will end...and that their families and their country will one day be brought back together.
51:03
Our wish is unification
Day and night, its our dream.
Unification come to us now.
Let’s make unification happen.
Our wish is freedom.
Day and night, it’s our dream.
Freedom, come to us now.
Let’s make freedom happen
51:44
end
Producers: Kim, Jung-Eun and Mary Mooney
Reporter/Camera: Kim, Jung-Eun
Post Production at SBS-Australia:
Writers: Peter Charley and Kim, Jung-Eun
Supervising Producer: Peter Charley
Executive Producer: Mike Carey
Editors: David Potts and Bill Madden
Production Manager: Jacki Nesbitt
Production Assistant: Jessica Giacco
Shadows And Whispers
A 52’ Minute Documentary
– October 2000
NB: THIS SCRIPT REFERS TO THE ENGLISH VERSION ONLY (THE ENGLISH AND INTERNATIONAL VERSIONS HAVE DIFFERENT TIME CODES)
Pretitles:
"Since 1995 more than 2 million people have died as a result of the famine
in North Korea."
"As many as 800 North Koreans have crossed illegally into China in search
of food."
"Most of them returned with whatever supplies they could bring to their
starving families".
"This is the story of some of those who chose to stay in China."
"Shadows and Whispers."
"The struggle of North Korea's Refugees."
__________________________________________
01:47
V/O
The mountains of North-East China.
01:56
An hour's walk into these forests, a family is living in hiding...under
the earth.
02:15
Kim Jung Su and Kim Jung He dug this hole themselves...and have been
hiding here from the police with their young son for the past 4 months.
Their crime, in the eyes of China and North Korea, is simply that they
left their famine-stricken homeland to look for food.
02:38
This is their fourth hide-out in the mountains since they started their
journey.
Even here, surrounded by caution and living in fear, they tried to keep
some sense of a normal family life.
02.52
-How do you catch big rabbits?
-Rabbits?
-What do you catch with big traps?
-Pigs.
-How do you catch pigs?
-Just like rabbits.
03:07
Chinese police are paid a bounty to capture refugees like this...and return
them to NK.
The Kims know that if they are sent back, they will be labelled as
traitors and put to death.
03.19
-Dad… do pigs walk around?
-No they run around.
-And sometimes they walk?
-Sometimes they run, sometimes they walk. Just like you!
03:42
The underground hide-out is only a few kms from the North-Korean border
that the Kims crossed illegally just over a year ago.
04:02
-Though we don’t have a house, living like this in hiding at least we eat rice, which is rarely available in NK, even for well off families. We just hope we don’t get caught.
- Everything else is fine, except for the fear and distress.
04:22
When the Kim family first came to China, they had 3 children...and Jung He was pregnant with the fourth.
04:31
But hiding in the forest was more difficult than they had expected ...and
one by one they have had to give their children away.
04:43
First a baby boy who was born here in hiding...who was given to a Chinese
family.
04:53
-I was sick for a month after I gave the baby away, I used to go outside and wail. The girls cried with me. I wanted to take rat poison so Dad hid it, I even thought of hanging myself. Now, after all that, months have gone by and days have gone by….I don’t think of suicide anymore but I still think of my baby.
05:26
Then, 4 months later, they reluctantly handed their 2 daughters to an
orphanage ..the only chance the children had of ever receiving an education.
The only child left now, Young Chen is 5 years old. Malnourishment from the famine in North Korea has stunted his growth.
05:50
-Shall I carry you on my back? There are wild boars out there.
- We don’t have to go now.
-Are you sure?
05:57
Like his sisters, Jung Chen will soon need an education...something his
parents cannot possibly give him, living in this hide-out.
The Kims soon face the agonizing decision of giving this last child up, as well.
06:24
In the town of How long (???), down the mountains from the Kim's hide-out,
there are new arrivals from North Korea.
06:34
These children have been walking for 3 days, and have come to this church
hall in search of food.
06:41
-How many times have you been to China?
-This is our first time.
- First time?
- Did you come together?
-Are you all friends?
-Yes.
-Did you decide to come together?
-Mum came here three years ago.
-Your Mum has been here in China for three years now?
-Three years.
-You haven’t found her yet?
-No.
-And what about your Dad……
-He died last year
-Last year in March.
-Your brother died too?
-Yes.
- How did he die?
- He starved to death.
07:22
- And how did your father die?
- He starved
- What happened to your house then?
- We didn’t have a house.
-Not anymore.
07:41
These children are typical of many refugees who come here...afraid, desperately hungry their bodies malnourished and damaged from their journey. And each of them tell the same story, They were driven here by the famine.
08:02
-Did many people starve to death in your town?
-Yes
- Others escape to China or left their homes
- Have you seen people die?
-Yes
- Where?
- In my country.
- In your village?
-Yes
-Did you know them?
- Not really.
-You didn’t know them?
- How did they die?
-They starved, they just died lying there.
08:42
As many as 40 thousand illegal North -Korean refugees are now living in
China.
Many live on the streets...begging for money and food.
09:02
They sleep where they can...this boy on a roof.
Others, in the all-night video room at the end of this corridor.
09:23
- How did you get those burns?
- How did I get them? They are cigarette burns.
- Who did that
- Mun-Chul
- Who’s he?
-This guy….
- Why did he do it?
- He told us to bring ten yuan a day.
- If we don’t, he bullies us by beating and burning us.
-If you don’t bring money?
-Yes
-He leaves you alone if you do?
-Yes
-How do you know him?
-How did I meet him? At this church, There as a North Korean kid called Yun-chul
10:06
-He hung around with three chinese kids.
-They were going to sell me.
-At first they were going to sell someone else. They took me to the plaza by the railway station.
-They were told I was too big so they couldn’t sell me, they wanted little kids. They said to bring small kids.
-There were three brothers and the youngest was very small. They sold him more money and thats how they lived.
-They sold kids?
-They sell kids, the kids escape.
10:46
- Who do they sell them to?
-To people somewhere inland, 2000 yuan per kid. They sold him for money, and that’s how they lived.
-What did they do with them
-I don’t know they never told me.
11:08
If there is any safety or security for North-Korean children in China, it can be found in places like this: An underground orphanage run by ethnic North Korean families.
11:27
-What do you usually do here?
-Girls usually play with baby dolls.
-What baby?
-We’re girls so…
-A doll?
-Yes.
-I play…with nothing
11:41
These children have all been brought here by North Korean families who can no longer feed, cloth or educate them while living illegally in China.
11.50
-Do you play alone?
-Yes.
-Because you’re the only boy?
-He plays with a toy car.
-Can you show it to me? The toy car
-Where did you get it?
-She gave it to me
12:09
But even here, there is a risk these children will be found.
12:15
Refuges like this are unregistered and illegal. Their owners face fines and imprisonment if they are discovered harbouring anyone from North Korea.
12:33
-How old are you?
-Me?
-I’m nine yeas old.
-What’s your name?
-Lee Eun-Kyong
-How long have you been here?
-A few days…
-A few days?
-It’s a few months.
-A few months
-I see.
12:54
-Do you like it here?
-yes.
-Where’s Mum and Dad?
-Mum is dead.
-Father is here in China…but far away from here.
-Far away?
13:09
-Did your mum die in North Korea?
-Yes.
-And your brothers and sisters?
-They all died
-Did they how?
-They starved to death
13:23
-Where is your Dad now?
-He’s somewhere else.
-What does he do?
-He works.
-Do you get to see him sometimes?
-No I don’t.
-Do you hear from him?
-No.
-What about your Mum?
-Mum’s dead.
-Where?
-In North Korea
13:53
-How did she die?
-She starved.
-Starved to death?
-Yes.
-You came with your Dad and little brother?
-Yes
-Did you have a funeral for your Mum?
-Did you bury your Mum?
-I don’t know.
-How old were you then?
-Say you don’t remember.
-When I was ten.
-How old are you now?
-I’m ten.
14:39
-So she died just this year?
-Yes.
14:45
These children are never allowed outside...even to play, in fear of attracting the attention of Chinese police. Their lives for years to come may be spent in secret.
15:06
-This is rice, flour, corn, Medicine, soap and sugar.
15:19
These provisions are for North Korean who come to china looking for >food to take back to their starving families.
15.26
-Can I see what’s inside?
-Sure.
15:30
But even this humanitarian effort is forbidden,
The organizers, an underground aid network of private individuals, ethnic
North Korean families and the church, all face fines or imprisonment if they are caught.
15:50
-There’s sugar, aspirin, soap and beans. And this is corn and this is rice.
-It’s 20kg per package?
-Yes.
-One package per person?
-Yes.
**** NB:MAN’S FACE AT 16.14 (HE’S STANDING ON LEFT) MUST BE PIXELATED/ DISGUISED
16:15
-Don’t the Chinese authorities search every room, when they check the church?
-No, but we can’t keep these packs in one place very long. We have to move them soon.
-What do you tell the Chinese authorities if they discover these?
-If we say it’s for North Koreans, we’ll be shut down. So we say this is for poor people. There are a lot of poor people around this area
17:02
Piano song
17:12
Amongst those who are being helped by this community, are Su He and Han Jin.
They came here 12 months ago, leaving their young daughter in North Korea.
At the time, it was too risky to bring it with them.
They are now planning to her smuggled across the border to join them in China.
17:40
-What did you tell your child hen you left?
-I just put her to bed.
18:31
Su He cannot risk returning to NK herself. She, too, is faced with the death penalty for leaving the country.
18.40
-I don’t even know if she is still alive. I hear that the situation there is worse now, I can only hope. I know that it’s not just our family that have been torn apart. There are many like us. There are many people here who saw their children die of starvation, but we’re still alive. We can’t do anything for those who are already dead.
19:33
When Su He and Han Jin first came to the city, they were living in this room...only 3 meters long and 2 meters wide. But in the next few days, they will leave this shelter to run from suspicious neighbours.
19:52
-I believe that, someday in the future, the hardship will be justified. My family will be together one day and we’ll talk about the hardship we’ve endured. I cling to that hope.
20:23
In their mountain hide-out, Jung He and Jung Su listen to a radio they bought with money given to them by the family who took their new-born boy. The broadcast comes from SK, a simple radio drama. Listening to this station or anything from the south is forbidden in North Korea.
20:54
Jung Su is now working at a tobacco farm an hour's walk from his hide-out.
21:04
His labour there is illegal and he receives no payment. But he is compensated with a small amount of rice which he brings back to his family every three days or so.
21:21
For extra food, Jung Su makes traps to catch rabbits and birds.
21:36
He also trades the game for rice and vegetables at a local village.
21:51
-This is how you make the trap.
-You can set it near water tomorrow.
-You set it like that.
22:21
-When the birds come to drink they perch on a twig, and when they fly away their heads get caught. We caught many birds this way last year.
-You gently get it out and pluck its feathers.
-You grill it and goes into your tummy.
-I see.
-This is for you who shall I give this one to?
23:00
Since Jung Chen's sisters and infant brother went away, his parents are trying to keep a memory at least of the family.
23.08
- What about your sister?
-She can have this one.
-And this one
-That’s mine.
23:16
-What about your second sister?
-This…
-Shall we make this one for her?
-Yes.
-And your little brother?
-Lets give him one too.
-Which one? These are for your sisters…
23:36
But the break-up of the family has been traumatic. Young Chen has now taken to the cheeky habit of puffing on his father's cigarettes.
24:04
In the morning, the Kims prepare to leave their dug-out for a journey down the mountain to visit their daughters they handed to the orphanage 4 months ago.
24:36
-My girls asked me to wear pretty clothes when I visit them, So the other kids would think I as pretty.
-The older girl said that?
-They both did. They asked me to bring the baby and wrap him up well. They said, if he was still sick I wasn’t to bring him as they don’t ant him to die.
-They don’t know?
-They don’t know we gave him away. They think he’s still in hospital.
25:14
This is the last meal they had in the forest...before they moved to a new hide-out closer to the orphanage.
25:57
To lessen the risk of being caught, the Kims separate and take different routes down the mountain.
26:12
It will be their first-ever visit to a city...but the journey will also determine what will happen to the little boy...if they are going to hand him over to the orphanage, too.
26:34
In Yangje, Su He and Han Jin have now moved to yet another house...their fourth in 5 months.
Their plans to bring their daughter to China have now failed.. and the Chinese couriers they hired for the job are threatening their lives.
26:57
-I found two Chinese people and borrowed money and rice from someone. They went to the river taking the stuff with them. I had told them to hand over the money and rice and bring back my child, when they got there, they were asked to cross the river into North Korea because the river was too deep to cross.
27:30
-They crossed the Tuman River into North Korea where a security officer arrested one of them. It was a secret service officer who arrested that man. The guy who made it back told us hat happened. His companion was detained in North Korea because of us.
27:54
-One day a few guys came to see me. Had they been nice about us getting the guy out, of course I would have agreed. Instead they said “we’re going to kill you”.
28:16
As illegal immigrants here, this couple cannot even seek protection from the police.
Su He and Han Jin will try again to bring their baby daughter to China, but they need to save more money to pay more bribes. And while they wait for another opportunity, they are haunted by the horrors they left behind.
28:40
-Some people made sausages with human flesh and then sold them. They were caught and then executed, one boy was still a minor, 16 years old. They faked his age so they could execute him.
29:06
-He was very small because he was malnourished. We all saw the execution
It made me cry, I know it was a terrible crime, but imagine how hungry they must have been to do such a thing.
29:29
-That’s a pigs life, isn’t it? It’s worse than being an animal. Even animals…Dogs, birds and horses… work outside. I’m a human being >but I’m not allowed to go out I’m just stuck indoors. Sometimes I can’t tell if I’m an animal or human being. I don’t know anymore
29:58
In the street outside, Minho begs for money. It is now 8 months since he first came to China and huddled in this building, looking for food.
30:13
Since then he has been twice caught and put into a North-Korean labour camp but he and his friends escaped and crossed back into China.
30:28
-Did you get beaten a lot?
-Yes I was beaten a lot.
-Didn’t it hurt?
-It hurt.
-Did you steal too?
-No, I didn’t.
-What did you used to eat in North Korea?
-He used to steal cows.
-I used to feast on farm pickings.
-We’d steal cabbages.
-We were all thieves.
31:04
Anything to keep alive. Like many NK refugees, these boys move back and forth across the border risking arrest and more beating to bring money and food to their starving families. They are veterans of life-and-death border-crossings and they are barely in their teens.
31:26
-You can cross with 100 won but what if you get caught?
-caught?
-100 won wouldn’t be enough if you get caught.
-Those guards are desperate for any amount.
-They’ll take your money anyway if you get caught.
-Those military bastards wouldn’t let us go for so little money.
-Yeah, they would let you go. They’re all dying of hunger and it’s almost new year.
32:06
Tonight, the boys plan another return to NK. They will sneak back across the border with money for their families hidden inside them. The earnings from their begging on the street are carefully folded and wrapped in plastic...and tied...and sealed...ready to be swallowed.
33:02
-You chew gum and you wrap this in gum…to make it easier to swallow.
33:24
-Then you swallow it?
-How often have you done this?
-Just once.
-Did they come out ok?
-Yes.
-How many days did it take?
-Two days.
33:44
This is another of the boys who came to China 8 months ago.
33:50
-Did you make any money?
-No.
-No? didn’t anyone give you some money?
33.56
Man Su began his odyssee at this church...and now begs for money in the streets of Yangje.
34:12
-You earned all this?
-Yes.
34.21
Man Su's mother came to China before him and he has been looking for her ever since he arrived.
34:34
Tonight he borrowed a phone to call a restaurant where he believed she once worked.
34:42
-Hello is this Kundang restaurant?
-Kundang restaurant?
-Shh…
-What?
-Is the manager there?
-Please find the manager.
-Yes I’m the kid from North Korea.
-Remember my mother, Kim Han-Keum?
-I’m her son.
-Did you find her address?
-Has my mother called?
-She hasn’t come by? Not even once? She hasn’t called?
-Can you put us in touch?
35.54
-She said she’ll put us in touch…
-She’ll put you in touch?
-She said she will. She said she’s on a farm.
-Do you have to call back?
-Yes.
-She said to call every few days.
36:19
Man Su now suspects his mother has now been sold to slavery and now he may never see her again.
36.46
-How do you know they sold your mother?
-It’s for sure she worked there. A women told me she was at a restaurant, I don’t know whether the restaurant sold her, but it’s been a while since she disappeared.
37:13
Kim Jung He and Kim Jung Su have now arrived in the city and are sheltering in a safe-house provided by a NK aid worker.
37:25
Jung Su's rabbit traps have provided the meat for the lunch. The feast is prepared unlike anything this family has ever seen...then, the long-awaited reunion with their daughters.
38:12
The children are shy and tentative at first.
38:20
-You’ve had your hair cut. You all look prettier.
_They’ve put on weight.
-Your brother said “mummy, look at my eyes, I’m crying.”
-”Why are you crying?” I miss them.
-When are they coming back?”
-”Soon”.
-”I hope so.”
38.47
-She looks like her dad, this one like Mum.
-Yes, that’s right.
-At bed time last night they asked about the boy.
-”How soon will he be there?”
-Did the girls know we were coming?
-No, we didn’t tell them.
-Did they tell you this morning?
-Yes
-Were you happy?
39.29
-Why aren’t you saying anything?
-How can I open your mouth?
-Do I need an opener?
-Wow, it opens.
39:43
Gradually, the girls begin to warm to their parents...and the stories from
the orphanage begin to emerge.
39.52
-Kids make fun of her.
-Who does that?
-Teases?
-No.
-Then who does what?
-What do you mean, the kids make fun of her?
39.59 *** NB: FACE THAT COMES INTO VISION ON RIGHT HAND SIDE MUST BE PIXELATED/ DISGUISED
-What do they do?
-They hit her.
-Do they hit her?
-Didn’t I say to tell the teacher if there were problems?
-Did you tell the teacher? Did you?
-Do you remember me saying that to you?
-Did they hurt? They didn’t hurt, right? They were just playing.
-I’m here, Mummy’s here. We’ll live near you.
40:43
-When you want us to see you, we’ll come right away.
-Isn’t it nice to study?
-You like that don’t you?
-what? they pinched me.
-they pinched you? Did you tell your teacher?
-Did you misbehave?
-Did you?
-If you misbehaved then it’s only fair. If you did that’s what happens. Stop crying.
-Don’t cry
-Don’t cry my baby…baby don’t cry…
-Is it because you are happy?
-Stop crying.
-You want chewing gum? I’ll buy you more next time.
-Here you are, Why are you crying?
-I want a reason. I want to hear the real reason.
42:43
The children will sleep here with their parents. But in the morning, they must return to the orphanage.
43:00
-I feel sad that we only have one night with our children.
43:08
But this visit has at least shown the Kims that their daughters have been better fed and educated than they could ever have been in the mountains...and it has helped them to make up their minds to send the boy away as well.
43:25
-I’ve lived in hiding for so long…I should be more brave, I’ve hidden in the mountains for so long. I’m terrified at the thought of being caught. I’m just scared.
44:19 v/o
In the morning, Jung Su and Jung He ask for a photograph to record the family together.
44:35
It is the first time a family portrait has been taken...it may also be the last.
44:42
-Don’t move just look at the camera.
-move back against the wall.
-Is he ok like this?
-That’s fine.
-Stay there and look at me.
-I don’t want to.
-Don’t leave me.
-we’re not leaving.
-We’re not leaving we are only taking a photo.
-I’ll be right here
-Look over here
-There, there…
-Mummy’s not leaving, I’ll stay right here. Look over here.
-Move this way and soothe him, We’ll go home after the photo.
-I want to go home.
-Okay, lets go.
-Lets just take one.
-Take it, just take it.
-I want to go home, I want to go home.
46.24 ***MAN HOLDING CAR DOOR OPEN MUST HAVE PIXELATED/ DISGUISED FACE THROUGHOUT THIS SCENE & CAR NUMBER PLATE MUST ALSO BE HIDDEN AS CAR DRIVES AWAY
46:28
But instead his parents take him to a car bound for the orphanage...and the Kim family is broken apart.
47:25
- If only we could have gone with him to the gate.
-I wanted to be strong…but this time…
-Can’t we go there in the car? Just to the gate? It wouldn’t be so bad if we parted without crying. When the girls left I knew it was for their own good, I walked away without crying… but this is so painful. If only we could have seen him to the gate it wouldn’t hurt so much.
49:03
The escape from NK has torn hundreds of thousands of families apart.
49:17
Many who have fled know they may never see their parents, their brothers or their sisters again. But his is a story of courage and survival...and here, at least, these boys can eat.
49:37
Tonight, this group finds fleeting happiness...moments like this, they have never known in NK... though even their songs are part of the propaganda that still come so
easily to them...whether they believe the words or not.
49:57
-Our father, Marshal Kim jong-il, Oh father…oh father…Oh our father.
-Did you sing that a lot in North korea?
-Father? What kind of father is that?
-A crappy father!
-What makes a good father?
-He can’t even feed porridge to his starving children.
-Some father!
50:37
But there is one song this evening which the boys do believe in...a song familiar to all Koreans...from North and South. It is an anthem of hope...that the running from poverty and hiding from the law will end...and that their families and their country will one day be brought back together.
51:03
Our wish is unification
Day and night, its our dream.
Unification come to us now.
Let’s make unification happen.
Our wish is freedom.
Day and night, it’s our dream.
Freedom, come to us now.
Let’s make freedom happen
51:44
end
Producers: Kim, Jung-Eun and Mary Mooney
Reporter/Camera: Kim, Jung-Eun
Post Production at SBS-Australia:
Writers: Peter Charley and Kim, Jung-Eun
Supervising Producer: Peter Charley
Executive Producer: Mike Carey
Editors: David Potts and Bill Madden
Production Manager: Jacki Nesbitt
Production Assistant: Jessica Giacco