Know Your Neighbor: Jeong Woo Ha

While most rising juniors spend the summers alternately relaxing and worrying about the upcoming school year, Jeong Woo Ha, a student at the Lawrenceville School, chose to spend his summer in Korea, making a documentary about the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).  His film, entitled “The Unexpected Gift” was recently shown in the Princeton Student Film and Video Festival, held at the Princeton Public Library this summer.
Jeong Woo Ha, a native of Korea, received the Lawrenceville School William Welles '71 Award that funded his research and allowed him to make a documentary.  He said, “I chose the DMZ because it’s so interesting. People say it’s a symbol of the Korean War and the poignancy of it.
The DMZ is a 4km-wide strip of land separating North and South Korea. Jeong Woo said, “The DMZ was made at the end of the Korean War, which is at armistice, so it’s technically not over. When you think about it, it’s like a place that no one would want to visit because it’s dangerous, there are like mines everywhere. Even Koreans, even though we live close, we don’t visit there, we want to ignore it, it’s like a history we don’t want to think about.”
Jeong Woo’s goal was to illustrate the contrast between the beauty and the violent history of the DMZ. He said, “My first objective was to show this ironic juxtaposition of this conflict and ecological peace and my second was to tell people as a student, try to plant a small hope that one day we could restore North and South Korea.”
Last summer, Jeong Woo visited South Korea and managed to gain entry to the CCZ, the Civilian Control Zone, found below the DMZ, since entering the DMZ is not possible. Jeong Woo entered the CCZ seven times to take photos and record footage of the wildlife in the DMZ.
Jeong Woo’s photos have been shown in exhibition in Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Jeong Woo said, “I used film as a medium because I thought showing it visually was the best way because then you actually see the ironic juxtaposition between soldiers and wildlife.”
Jeong Woo believes the lush and green DMZ is an “unexpected gift.” He said, “I thought we could see this as a gift. Why not try to make DMZ like a symbol or a model? So North Korea and South Korea avoid future conflict.” Jeong Woo’s documentary explains the existence of the DMZ, while showing its wildlife and natural beauty, and also shows him with students of South Korea, writing down their goals for future peace.
Though Jeong Woo’s film was successful, he says he is interested less in film and more in ecology and the environment. He said, “I am definitely interested in environment. This summer I am also researching this project, called Susquehanna Roseland Project. It’s this new transmission line between Susquehanna, PA and Rosewood, NJ. I’m working with this professor at Princeton, whose work involves conflict between electricity utilities and NGOs who are trying to stop the line because it harms the environment.”