About those two darn journalists

For the first time since I've been to Korea, our class had a seminar-like discussion. It was probably not intended to be so open, but Kelly and I inadvertently chose to present on the same news topic, so the question and answer session extended into a wild exploration of thoughts and presumptions that I found quite enjoyable. It was a refreshing change from the one-way information the teachers had robotically fed us throughout the past year.

We discussed the significance of a recent incident in which two American reporters who were detained by North Korean troops on the Chinese border. They were on mission to report on the trafficking of female defectors and their living conditions in China. Their detainment has made the headlines, at least in the Korean media, for the past several days.

To give a short summary of what happened, 3 reporters from California-based new media station Current News and 1 Korean-Chinese guide were taking footage of North Korean defectors' escape route near the Tuman River. Around 3 am in the morning, 2 of the female journalists, a Korean-American named Euna Lee and a Chinese American named Laura Ling, were detained by North Korean guards at the border. 

There are varying accounts of why the journalists were arrested. Some media sources say the journalists were detained after they crossed over to the other side of the Tuman River to get extra footage of North Korea. If that were the case, Lee and Ling could rightfully be prosecuted under North Korean domestic law. However, other sources say North Korean guards crossed into Chinese borders to arrest the journalists after unsuccessfully warning them not to take more footage of North Korea. If this were true, the North Koreans would have no right to keep Lee and Ling in custody, and unless they want to be labeled as abuctors again. 

Aside from the uncertainty of what actually happened, there has been much debate about how this incident will effect US-North Korea relations. Now is a very sensitive period for US-North Korea relations, especially with North Korea threatening to test launch a satellite or intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching US territory from Musandanri.

While some experts warn that North Korea may hold the two American journalists as a bargaining chip with the US on important foreign policy matters, I tend to disagree. The US has already declared they are approaching this incident as a humanitarian matter, instead of a security one. That means if North Korea tries to pull any strings in the nuclear negotiation process by dangling the detained journalists on the line, the US will probably not listen. 

North Korea already seems to have known their limits. If North Korea were truly trying to hold the journalists captive for some kind of nuclear ransom with the US, it would have been the first one to inform the US government of the incident. However, reports show that Korean intelligence sources were the first ones to spill the beans, and that was several hours after the incident occurred.

As of now, North Korea still suspects the journalists of being spies. Their goal, no doubt, is to get these two Americans to admit they were participating in espionage so that it can be used as domestic propaganda against the "imperialistic Americans" trying to destroy the socialist country. However, unlike the concerns of some groups, North Korea will not go as far as torturing the detainess to make them confess to being spies. Rather, the North Korean government is doing its best to treat its semi-unwanted guests with hospitality and comfort. All this to get a good name out for itself when the journalists go back to the US for a press conference. 

While thinking about this incident, I questioned the ethics behind journalism and the extent to which journalists should go to report the truth. I am a firm believer in the responsibility of the media and especially those of journalists to investigate injustice and reveal the truth--even if it may result in significant losses. However, when that loss extends beyond the journalist or media organization itself and affects the innocent or the country the journalist represents in harmful ways, every step must be taken to minimize risk and maximize safety.

I was told that Pastor Chun Kiwon, who provided the journalists with a guide in the border area, warned them not to cross the river. However, when the journalists' guide suggested it was safe to capture footage across the river, the sensationalism of it all couldn't stop the reporters from taking the risk. It was unplanned and unanticipated, and it resulted in a huge fiasco for a lot of people. What will happen, for instance, to all the defectors captured on footage? Will the North Korean government persecute any of their family members or try to uncover their hiding place?

Of course, if I were ever in that situation myself, of having the once in a lifetime opportunity to walk across 1 meter of frozen water to the most self-isolated country in the world, I may have not been able to resist. But taking a step back, I can't help but look at the journalists' actions with a critical eye. They are bringing attention to a region that remained a secret yet relatively open passage back and forth from North Korea to the outside world. What will result is more crackdowns and less mercy. And for what? Their own greed, their own ambition, to reveal something that is already known to those who have been involved in aiding defectors for years, and to make a name for themselves as the American journalists who risked their lives fearlessly to unconver one of the world's most unsolvable enigmas.

But then again, who can blame them.