{"id":37,"date":"2012-06-29T17:06:17","date_gmt":"2012-06-29T08:06:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.01.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang-2\/2012\/06\/report\/north-korea-reporter-story\/"},"modified":"2021-06-24T17:22:12","modified_gmt":"2021-06-24T08:22:12","slug":"north-korea-reporter-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2012\/06\/news\/north-korea-reporter-story\/","title":{"rendered":"N.Korean Reporter, LEE Jun story"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"R_NEX003\"Many North Korean refugees live in hiding in the Chinese border city of Yanbian. <\/span>
\n In August, 2002, LEE Jun, one of these refugees, came across the Japanese journalist ISHIMARU Jiro.<\/span>
\n Lee spoke on camera for the first time, frankly describing his reasons for escaping North Korea.
\n ------------------------
\n LEE:<\/strong> I fled across the border with my family, carrying my dying mother on my back. It was because of hunger. There was nothing to eat but weeds. <\/p>\n

My children were just skin and bones.
\n When I saw that they couldn't even stand, I realized that if we were going to die anyway, we might as well die after a last spoonful of rice than to die hungry. So I brought them to China.<\/span>
\n ------------------------
\n <\/span>\"R_NEX002\"Having come in contact with a foreign journalist for first time, Lee realized he should take matters into his own hands.<\/span>
\n He learned from Ishimaru how to use a PC and video camera. He made a firm determination to become a journalist and tell the world the truth about North Korea. <\/span>
\n Thus, Lee crossed the Tuman-gang River and returned to his home country.<\/span>
\n In July 2004, Lee Jun captured his first footage.<\/span>
\n ISHIMARU interviewed Lee Jun.
\n ------------------------
\n \"R_NEX006\"Q: Why do you continue to take these hidden videos?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

LEE:<\/strong> I have a strong belief that I have to do something.<\/span>
\n At the moment, I'm alone. But maybe my actions will cause a spark that will lead to change in North Korea. Even if I'm caught and labeled as a \"national traitor,\" I'll admit this proudly.<\/span>
\n I'm working for democracy. I'm not against the North Korean system alone, or just Kim Jong-il as a person. <\/span><\/p>\n

My desire is for democracy, where everyone can live live equally. I'm not someone yelling about how bad our leadership is. I know it is dangerous to make these hidden videos.<\/span>
\n What I hope to do eventually is make videos I can bring into North Korea that provide outside information to people who know nothing about the world at large.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"R_NEX001\"North Koreans are not even aware their human rights are being violated. They just do whatever the state orders them to do. <\/span>
\n I want to wake up our ignorant people.<\/span>
\n By gathering the right information, I want to show them what gross violations of human rights they suffer. That's what I want to do the most.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q: What would you like to tell the world about North Korea?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"R_profile004\"LEE:<\/strong> I want everyone to see a true picture of our people's real, unvarnished lives. As I work I try to convey the true state of North Korea as it is today.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, just how many people are packed into train cars, or how they are supposed to sleep there. Or how and what we eat. I want people to see even the smallest details.<\/span>
\n What I've filmed so far shows merely a small glimpse of our people's lives. It's probably not even one tenth of what I want to show.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[Related:]\n Lee Jun Story\/YouTube<\/a><\/span>
\n Voices from inside North Korea, ISHIMARU Jiro<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Rimjin-gang<\/a>
\n*\u00a0Editor's notes on North Korean reporters<\/a><\/span>
\n<\/a>ALL REPORTS >>><\/a> <\/span><\/strong>
\nARCHIVE(pdf) >><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many North Korean refugees live in hiding in the Chinese border city of Yanbian. In August, 2002, LEE Jun, one of these \u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}