CROSSING THE LINE

In 1962, Private James Dresnok, a 19-year-old American border guard in South Korea, deserted the U.S. Army by crossing over into communist North Korea. As one of only four American soldiers, who defected to North Korea during the height of the Cold War, he was noticeably a stranger in a strange land. Although Dresnok was unsure about his future in the highly secretive communist country, the North Korean government found they could use his unusual circumstances in their propaganda campaign against the United States. Daniel Gordon skillfully counterpoints Dresnok's own testimony against stark archival footage of the People's Republic, and presents the unprecedented and complex story of a man, who left the native country he felt unconnected to and found himself living in an alien nation he came to consider home. (Lisa Viola)