looking for a filmmaker to produce documentary on soviet koreans

Got this unusual but fascinating request from a longtime reader... Jon Chang has spent the last five years collecting extensive interviews, photographs and other research on the Korean experience in Soviet Russia, and is looking for a filmmaker to produce a documentary on the amazing stories of these Soviet Koreans. Jon explains:

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Jon Chang and I am looking for a filmmaker or film student to produce a documentary film on Soviet Koreans. In the last 5 years or so, I have collected roughly 66 interviews, numerous video and about one hundred or so photographs of Koreans who were deported from the Russian Far East (e.g. Vladivostok) to Central Asia. 62 of the 67 Koreans were from 7 to 25 years old at the time of deportation (1937). I have tape and video of the interviews, which were conducted in Russian and Korean (Hamgyong dialect). The Soviet Koreans had many interesting stories to tell regarding life in Stalin’s Soviet Union regarding life, sport, tigers, opium and WWII. Some of the most interesting stories, however, are in regards to inter-relationships with the Chinese, Russians and then post-deportation, with the Kazakhs and Uzbeks. I also have many ( 120 or ) scanned photos dating from 1910 to the present. In many ways, their lives are analogous to those of Asians in America. I have enclosed a picture of a Korean family taken in Khabarovsk, 1923 and that of Mikhail An who was elected captain along with Fedorov of the 1980 Soviet Olympic futbol team. He tragically died in a plane crash in August of 1979 before the Olympics. Optimally, I am looking for a filmmaker who can understand and write either Russian or Korean. However, I am fluent in Russian and have translated almost all of the material into English.

Sincerely,

Jon Chang

jonntexas@yahoo.com

It sounds like a fascinating, untold slice of history. If you're a filmmaker or film student who is interested helping to get this documentary produced, or perhaps connect him with someone who can, email Jon Chang at jonntexas@yahoo.com.