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KBS to Make Documentary About Kim Jong-il

KBS will produce a three-part biographical documentary about North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and air it late this year. "It's one of global programs we planned early this year", a KBS spokesman said.

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A spokesman for the production team said this will be South Korea's first in-depth documentary exclusively about Kim's life. "We've gathered materials in 14 foreign countries, including China and Russia, for over a year. We're now putting the finishing touches to it", he added. "We'll decide when to broadcast it after gathering opinions in consideration of recent controversy over the Syngman Rhee documentary".

KBS has made several documentaries about controversial Koreans like South Korean dictator Syngman Rhee, Chung Yul-sung (Zheng Lucheng), a Korean musician who worked for communist China, and Paik Sun-yup, a South Korean general with a background in Japanese-occupied Manchuria, but had to delay or shelve plans to broadcast them due to vociferous protests by various ideological groups.

"We focused on handling the subject as objectively as possible, not from a South Korean or an ideological viewpoint", the spokesman said. "We're sure there will be no cause for ideological debate once the whole documentary is broadcast".

He said the film includes never-before-seen testimony from scores of Korean and international figures who have watched Kim for a long time, as well as rare video footage. He added the film will dissect the North Korean social and power structure throughout Kim's life. It will also include dramatized sections.

Other documentaries about Kim have been made in China and the U.S.

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