Independent Lens

Free Chol Soo Lee

Sentenced to life for a 1973 San Francisco murder, Korean immigrant Chol Soo Lee was set free after a pan-Asian solidarity movement, 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.

Inside Look | Free Chol Soo Lee

1m 30s

Get an inside look at Free Chol Soo Lee from Independent Lens. 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.

Previews + Extras

  • Dinner And a Doc | Free Chol Soo Lee: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Dinner And a Doc | Free Chol Soo Lee

    S24 E12 - 1m 50s

    Free Chol Soo Lee co-directors Julie Ha and Eugene Yi share mouthwatering lunch with activists Ranko Yamada and Gail Whang in L.A.'s Koreatown.

  • Trailer | Free Chol Soo Lee: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Trailer | Free Chol Soo Lee

    S24 E12 - 30s

    Sentenced to life for a 1973 San Francisco murder, Korean immigrant Chol Soo Lee was set free after a pan-Asian solidarity movement, 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.

  • Teaser | Free Chol Soo Lee: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Teaser | Free Chol Soo Lee

    S24 E12 - 1m

    Through his journey from an inspiring icon to a swing-shift janitor, Chol Soo Lee personifies the ravages of America’s prison industrial complex.

  • The Ballad of Chol Soo Lee: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Ballad of Chol Soo Lee

    S24 E12 - 4m 49s

    Did a song help free an incarcerated man? Dolly Li breaks down how UC Berkeley college students wrote a track about Chol Soo Lee, a wrongfully convicted Korean immigrant sentenced to life in prison. Stream Free Chol Soo Lee now on the PBS App.

  • A Short History of Korean American Immigration: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    A Short History of Korean American Immigration

    S24 E12 - 4m 53s

    Korean culture has long been a part of the fabric of American culture. But what was that journey like? The three most significant waves all happened in relation to geopolitical tensions and trends in both America and Korea. Dolly Li dives deeper. Stream Free Chol Soo Lee now on YouTube or the PBS App.

  • The Misrepresentation of Chol Soo Lee: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Misrepresentation of Chol Soo Lee

    S24 E12 - 5m 34s

    Remember 1989’s True Believer, starring James Woods and Robert Downey, Jr.? Was it a prime example of Hollywood’s White Savior Complex? Dolly Li examines how the flick centered a white lawyer in a story based on Chol Soo Lee’s arrest. Stream Free Chol Soo Lee now on YouTube or the PBS App.

Similar Shows

WETA Passport

Stream tens of thousands of hours of your PBS and local favorites with WETA Passport whenever and wherever you want. Catch up on a single episode or binge-watch full seasons before they air on TV.