KCET Broadcasts Two-Part Series, Korea - the Forgotten War in Color Monday, April 5

Burbank, CA - April 12, 2013 - With the increasingly tense situation on the Korean peninsula and in the Western Pacific, KCET will air Korea - The Forgotten War in Colour, an important historical documentary that reviews events in the Korean War during the mid-twentieth century on Monday, April 15 at 8 p.m.

From the makers of the acclaimed In-Colour genre of documentaries, Stewart Binns and Adrian Wood, Korea - The Forgotten War in Color tells the story of this combat through the power color imagery, dramatic musical score and soundscape that are the hallmarks of Binns and Woods productions. Using the first-hand accounts of the Korean people themselves and original material telecined from film to HD, much of it recently discovered and never broadcast before, this riveting film offers a unique insight into a conflict that saw East confront West, communism challenge liberal democracy and Korean fight Korean in a bloody civil war.

Beginning at 8 p.m. is the documentarys first episode, Outbreak. Set in the summer of 1950, the people of Korea are trapped in the vice-like grip of the beginnings of the Cold War, as the two new superpowers of the post-war world flex their muscles - The United States and the Soviet Union.

The inevitable happens on June 25,1950, when 200,000 men of the North Korean Peoples Army invade the South. The attack is almost a complete success, but is thwarted by a hastily gathered force under the auspices of the United Nations and led by the United States.

For the next twelve months, the opposing forces - South Korean and their United Nations allies on one side, North Korean and their Chinese and Soviet allies on the other - march up and down the Korean peninsula in a series of attacks and counter-attacks until cease-fire negotiations begin on July 10, 1951. However, the negotiations do not bring an end to the conflict, as the war drags on for a further two years.

Following Outbreak is episode two, Stalemate, which airs at 9 p.m. While the diplomats wrangle and the negotiators argue, the fighting in the blighted Korean countryside continues. Koreas rugged landscape is festooned by barbed wire and trenches. Towns and villages lay in ruins; the hillsides and valleys are scarred by bomb craters and columns of destroyed armor.

Amid allegations of retribution and reprisals, one of the major issues at the negotiations is the sensitive issue of the repatriation of prisoners of war. Both sides are reluctant to release prisoners to an uncertain future. Eventually, the prisoner issue is resolved and a ceasefire is declared on July 27, 1953. After three years of war, with the country destroyed and at the cost of millions of lives, a divided nation returns to the status quo of 1950.

ABOUT KCET

On-air, online and in the community, KCET plays a vital role in the cultural and educational enrichment of Southern and Central California. KCET offers a wide range of award-winning local programming as well as the finest public television programs from around the world. KCET currently produces the Emmy , duPont-Columbia and Peabody Award-winning SoCal Connected, a hard-hitting prime-time weekly television news program that examines the issues and people of Southern California. Throughout its 48-year history, KCET has won hundreds of major awards for its local and regional news and public affairs programming, its national drama and documentary productions, its quality educational family and childrens programs, its outreach and community services and its website, kcet.org. KCET is a donor-supported community institution. For additional information about KCET productions, web-exclusive content, programming schedules and community events, please visit kcet.org. KCET is a service of KCETLink.

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