*The upcoming PBS acclaimed documentary “Free Chol Soo Lee” unpacks the life story of Chol Soo Lee, a Korean immigrant wrongfully convicted of murder in the 1970s.
The doc premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and hails from journalists and filmmakers Eugene Yi and Julie Ha. The project provides deeper insight into the tragic case of Cho Soo Lee and the pan-Asian American grassroots movement for justice he inspired.
The PBS synopsis reads: Sentenced to life for a 1973 San Francisco murder, Chol Soo Lee was set free after a pan-Asian solidarity, which included Korean, Japanese, and Chinese Americans, helped to overturn his conviction. After 10 years of fighting for his life inside California state prisons, Lee found himself in a new fight to rise to the expectations of the people who believed in him.
“He was convicted largely on the eyewitness testimony of three white tourists who saw, you know, the killer, and they identified a man who was between 5-6 and 5-10 who was clean out,” Ha told NPR in an August 2022 interview.
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Ha continued, “And when you look at Chol Soo Lee, he was a shorter man. He was, you know, about around 5-2, and he had a mustache. How could the police have picked up this person who doesn’t even meet eyewitness descriptions of the actual killer?
“But then you – you know, you realize this happens all the time, unfortunately, in our country and that, you know, he was this poor Korean immigrant who didn’t have the resources to hire his own defense attorney and have the type of defense that could have cleared this up. It’s such a horrendous case.”
This moving documentary, per the network’s synopsis, “shines a light on a little-known but important chapter of Asian American history” and “makes for a still-timely and important conversation, particularly in light of the spike in anti-Asian hate/violence over the last few years that continues to have consequences for collective Asian American mental health and feelings of safety.”
rally at one of many courthouse protests to fight for Chol Soo Lee’s freedom. Credit: Ken Yamada
“Free Chol Soo Lee” features archival footage and interviews with influential journalist K.W. Lee, activist Ranko Yamada, and many more.
“Free Chol Soo Lee” premieres on PBS’s Independent Lens on Monday, April 24, at 10 pm on PBS, the PBS App, and PBS YouTube. Korean subtitles will be available for PBS App and PBS YouTube watchers. The film will be available to stream free for 30 days on the PBS App and on PBS YouTube.
We spoke to Ha, Yi, and Ranko about their creative goals in developing this project and what areas of Chol Soo Lee’s life did you want to highlight. Watch our exclusive conversation below.
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