Originally published in New Strait Times, Sunday People
20 December 2007
20 December 2007
Hello, Comrade Joe
An American finds a second chance at life in the communist state of North Korea. MAX KOH learns a lesson or two at a recent screening of a documentary
An American finds a second chance at life in the communist state of North Korea. MAX KOH learns a lesson or two at a recent screening of a documentary
IT is 1962. James Joseph Dresnok, a young US soldier, is patrolling the South Korean side of the Demilitarisation Zone (DMZ). He is ready to shoot in case of an attack by communists from the north.
Little did he know that he would soon cross that border and stay in North Korea, for the rest of his life.
Crossing The Line is the untold story of Dresnok, one of four American defectors to North Korea.
Long considered missing by US authorities, Dresnok resurfaced when the film-makers of VeryMuchSo Production uncovered him in 2004. After more than 40 years.
“I will tell you something I’ve never before told anyone,” said Dresnok as he began to relate his story.
Dresnok, or Comrade Joe as he is fondly known, has spent the last 45 years living in Pyongyang.
He has since married twice, fathered two children and has embraced the North Korean way of life.
He did once try to leave for the Soviet Union but the Russian embassy only referred him and his three would-be defectors back to the local authorities.
Their return was well received by the powers-to-be. They were turned into celebrities when they were given starring roles in Kim Jong Il’s nationalistic films. Even if they were typecast as evil, scheming Americans.
Up to this day, strangers walk up to Dresnok on the street in Pyongyang and greet him as Arthur, the evil American in one of those films.
But it’s not hard to miss him. Standing at six-foot-five, Dresnok is an imposing figure.
But he is a likeable guy. He jokes with his fishing buddies in Korean and as he peppers his story with jokes and asides.
Watching Crossing The Line is like sitting on your grandfather’s lap and listening to his stories.
Except, in this case, the story is way more interesting how he met grandma and what the good old days were like.
Dresnok was first “discovered” by the film-makers when they were shooting The Game Of Their Lives, their first feature film about the North Korean team who beat the mighty Italian in the 1966 World Cup.
“We couldn’t believe our ears. There were Americans living in North Korea. And not just Americans, they were US soldiers who were defected during the Korean War.
“However, we thought that it would be impossible to get them, so we made our second film in North Korea, A State Of Mind, in 2004,” said co-producer Nick Bonner during a screening of the film at Actor’s Studio, Bangsar.
“It was during the later stages of filming State, that we were given permission (by the North Korean authorities) to speak to the Americans. At that time, only two were still alive.”
The other American defector is Charles Robert Jenkins. The film-makers only managed to speak briefly with Jenkins, as he left for Japan to meet his estranged Japanese wife. Jenkins surrendered to the US Army there and was court martialled.
He made headlines when, in an interview with TIME magazine, he alleged that Dresnok had beaten him in captivity by order of the North Korean authorities during his years there.
“Balderdash!” Dresnok could not believe his ears when he heard the allegations. His immediate and honest reaction was captured on film.
As the film reveals, we soon found out that there is a long-standing adversity between the two men.
Isn’t ironical that Dresnok found happiness in North Korea, a state often derided by the US?
In contrast to his prior life in Virginia — abused child, runaway orphan, a failed first marriage — Dresnok seems to have it good in Pyongyang.
He now has a place to call home. He’s a celebrity and gets a regular stipend from the government.
He spends his days with his family and fishing by the Pyongyang riverside. And smoking and drinking with his Korean buddies.
Which is why Crossing The Line is more than just a documentary. This is about a man who seized the chance for a better life. So what if it was in North Korea.
Crossing The Line is an official selection at the 2007 Pusan, Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals
Little did he know that he would soon cross that border and stay in North Korea, for the rest of his life.
Crossing The Line is the untold story of Dresnok, one of four American defectors to North Korea.
Long considered missing by US authorities, Dresnok resurfaced when the film-makers of VeryMuchSo Production uncovered him in 2004. After more than 40 years.
“I will tell you something I’ve never before told anyone,” said Dresnok as he began to relate his story.
Dresnok, or Comrade Joe as he is fondly known, has spent the last 45 years living in Pyongyang.
He has since married twice, fathered two children and has embraced the North Korean way of life.
He did once try to leave for the Soviet Union but the Russian embassy only referred him and his three would-be defectors back to the local authorities.
Their return was well received by the powers-to-be. They were turned into celebrities when they were given starring roles in Kim Jong Il’s nationalistic films. Even if they were typecast as evil, scheming Americans.
Up to this day, strangers walk up to Dresnok on the street in Pyongyang and greet him as Arthur, the evil American in one of those films.
But it’s not hard to miss him. Standing at six-foot-five, Dresnok is an imposing figure.
But he is a likeable guy. He jokes with his fishing buddies in Korean and as he peppers his story with jokes and asides.
Watching Crossing The Line is like sitting on your grandfather’s lap and listening to his stories.
Except, in this case, the story is way more interesting how he met grandma and what the good old days were like.
Dresnok was first “discovered” by the film-makers when they were shooting The Game Of Their Lives, their first feature film about the North Korean team who beat the mighty Italian in the 1966 World Cup.
“We couldn’t believe our ears. There were Americans living in North Korea. And not just Americans, they were US soldiers who were defected during the Korean War.
“However, we thought that it would be impossible to get them, so we made our second film in North Korea, A State Of Mind, in 2004,” said co-producer Nick Bonner during a screening of the film at Actor’s Studio, Bangsar.
“It was during the later stages of filming State, that we were given permission (by the North Korean authorities) to speak to the Americans. At that time, only two were still alive.”
The other American defector is Charles Robert Jenkins. The film-makers only managed to speak briefly with Jenkins, as he left for Japan to meet his estranged Japanese wife. Jenkins surrendered to the US Army there and was court martialled.
He made headlines when, in an interview with TIME magazine, he alleged that Dresnok had beaten him in captivity by order of the North Korean authorities during his years there.
“Balderdash!” Dresnok could not believe his ears when he heard the allegations. His immediate and honest reaction was captured on film.
As the film reveals, we soon found out that there is a long-standing adversity between the two men.
Isn’t ironical that Dresnok found happiness in North Korea, a state often derided by the US?
In contrast to his prior life in Virginia — abused child, runaway orphan, a failed first marriage — Dresnok seems to have it good in Pyongyang.
He now has a place to call home. He’s a celebrity and gets a regular stipend from the government.
He spends his days with his family and fishing by the Pyongyang riverside. And smoking and drinking with his Korean buddies.
Which is why Crossing The Line is more than just a documentary. This is about a man who seized the chance for a better life. So what if it was in North Korea.
Crossing The Line is an official selection at the 2007 Pusan, Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals
