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Have you heard of Seoul Train?
Zach Ganschow, Journalist
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The Human Equality Rights Organization (HERO) will be playing an “Intensely visceral, illuminating and deeply moving” documentary, as described by Strictly Film School. The screening, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. in the SPEC, is open to the public to raise awareness about the plight of N. Korean citizens.
Seoul Train (also dubbed Underground Tour) is a documentary film which profiles the escape efforts of N. Koreans. The escape attempts occur on the border of North Korea and China. S. Korea is impossible for escape, as the De-Militarized Zone border is impenetrable. Some are brave enough to risk an escape, but if caught by the Chinese government, they are returned to N. Korea. This usually results in the citizens torture and execution. In N. Korea, there is an estimated 150,000 – 200,00 people imprisoned in forced labor camps. The accused “crimes” by these prisoners are as simple as reading a foreign newspaper or singing South Korean music.
“Education is the biggest part,” said Gabe Murphy founder of HERO. “Most students just don’t know what’s happening. I believe they would care about something like this if they only knew what was really happening”
COURTESY/MCT A S. Korean man, escaped from N. Korea, still hides his face from the eminent danger that still haunts him.
Among these atrocities, there is a secret society of people running an underground railroad. This is the focus of Seoul Train.
Seoul is the capital of S. Korea, and is seen as a safe haven for N. Koreans. The film is composed of actual interviews with various officials and refugees as they fight to survive. The footage is gripping as you are taken directly into the wrenching situations these people face. N. Korea, the dangerous and secretive country is home to 25 million people. In the last 50 years, it is estimated only 6,000 people have successfully escaped.
“Seeing this film is only one step in the education of this topic,” said Murphy. “We really encourage students to become aware.”
Seoul Train is “an unprecedented exposé…a stunning portrait of a humanitarian crisis in the making” quotes Bright Lights Film Journal.
The film will be playing Monday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Special Events Center inside the SUB. The film is sponsored by a grassroots non-profit Liberty in N. Korea (LiNK) based out of California. The event is free and open to the public.
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