Korean Kidnapping

Abduction Directed by Chris Sheridan & Patty Kim

Back in 1977, while American moviegoers were viewing Close Encounters of the Third Kind as a sort of primer about the possibilities of alien abduction, 13 Japanese citizens—one of them a 13-year-old girl named Megumi Yokota—mysteriously vanished without a trace from towns along the coast of the Sea of Japan.

Searching everywhere, their loved ones and local authorities found nothing to explain their disappearance. As the investigation pressed on, a Japanese journalist discovered evidence indicating the 13 had been abducted—not by aliens, but by the North Koreans. This shocking abduction theory became a cause celebre in Japan that’s lasted 30 years, making and breaking politicians. But America and the rest of the Western world has taken little notice of the abductions.

In Abduction, Washington, D.C.-based husband and wife doc makers Chris Sheridan and Patty Kim chronicle the heartbreaking struggle of Megumi Yokota’s parents to find their beloved daughter, or at least discover what happened to her. Their focus and determination have cut across the changing tides of politics and kept the abduction issue an ongoing news story in Japan; one that’s again heating up because it impacts nuclear negotiations between Japan and North Korea, as well as the rest of the world.

“In 2002, Patty read about the historic meeting where Kim Jong Il admitted to the Japanese Prime Minister that North Korea had kidnapped Japanese citizens. Patty’s of Korean descent and keeps up on news related to Korea, but we’d heard nothing about these abductions—nor had our acquaintances heard about them—and that intrigued us,” says Sheridan. “How could 13 people be snatched by North Korea so they could be used to train spies, and the west take so little notice? It’s terrifying.”

“But for us, the story’s real “oh-my-gosh factor” was that one of the people taken was a 13-year-old girl, and that her parents hadn’t for one moment in 30 years given up on getting her back. It was a tragic personal story played against an intensely difficult political landscape. It had a Hollywood quality to it, but if you took it to a Hollywood studio, they’d probably say, ‘Yeah, it’s a great story, but could it happen in real life?’”

MERIN: If not Hollywood, how did you get the film produced? Jane Campion is credited as executive producer. What was her involvement?

SHERIDAN: Jane’s role was advisory. She joined us because she so sympathized with the Yokotas. She, too, has lost a child.

Patty and I produced the film ourselves. When we found the story, we were both working at National Geographic Films and pitched it to them. That really wasn’t a good fit and didn’t work out. But this was a story we had to tell, so we dug into our own pockets.

MERIN: Since Abduction uncovers North Korea’s espionage tactics and dirty tricks, it’s easy to assume there’s a political agenda behind the film’s release. Did you receive any government funding for it?

None. Towards the end the BBC came on board and, with their contribution, we were able to finish the film.

The abductions are a sensitive issue between Japan and North Korea. I suppose the Japanese hope worldwide awareness will lead to release of the abductees who haven’t yet come home. Officially, the number was 13 but, as you see in the film, a former North Korean spy says when an espionage team went to Japan, they were instructed to abduct someone. Many people believe there were hundreds of abductions—of Japanese, South Koreans, Thais—and they’re still in North Korea.

There are a lot of stories to be told about the abductions. Our focus isn’t political. Our film tells the human story of what the Yokotas and other families have endured. If audiences want to know more about the politics, they’ll find plenty on the Internet.

Your interest in the story is recent, and came about by happenstance, so how did you get the archival footage—of early police searches, Yokota appeals on television, Japanese rallies against aid to North Korea and that meeting at which Kim Jong Il confessed to the abductions—that’s necessary to tell the story?

Most of the footage comes from Fuji TV, and it was difficult to negotiate for its use. It’s not like here, where accessing archival film is easy. Fuji TV rarely allows use of their footage, but they supported the project and allowed us to buy it. We also shot original footage. For example, the day we met the Yokotas, they took us to places where Megumi spent her childhood, up to the time and place she vanished. The footage I shot of that tour is an important part of the film.

Although several abductees have returned to Japan—some with North Korean spouses and children—you haven’t indicated what they’re up to at present, nor is there information about what they did during their 30-year captivity. Why?

They don’t talk about what happened, at least not publicly. In the film, several apologize for causing concern and pain, using exactly the same words. To me, that indicates they’ve been told what to say, but I don’t know by whom. One father said his son’s not talking because he fears consequences from North Koreans. So there are still a lot of details to come out.

Our film isn’t the finale on the North Korean abductions. We found Megumi Yokota’s story particularly compelling and focused on it, but I anticipate additional films will explore other aspects of the bigger picture.