Chinatown Murder Case

About this episode

The episode explores the unsolved murders in San Francisco's Chinatown and the impact of K.W. Lee's investigative journalism on the case of Chol Soo Lee.

A string of unsolved murders in San Francisco's Chinatown in the 1970s led police to the door of a young Korean immigrant named Chol Soo Lee — who was quickly arrested and sentenced to life in prison. But when investigative journalist K.W. Lee started digging into the case, he discovered a world of twisted law and order that went far deeper than one man. The articles K.W. wrote about what he uncovered in Chinatown shocked Asian Americans across Northern California to stand up and demand justice for Chol Soo Lee — and themselves. Corrections: In this episode we state that Chol Soo Lee had a mustache in the photo that appeared in the mug book. Correction: He did have a mustache at the time of the killing, but he did not have a mustache in that photo. We state that K.W. Lee learned of Chol Soo Lee stabbing a fellow inmate from a TV news segment. Correction: He learned about it in a news briefing. We state that K.W. Lee was at the premiere of the documentary “Free Chol Soo Lee.” Correction: He attended the premiere virtually in January of 2022. He physically attended a screening in August of 2022 when the film was released in theaters. Guests: Sojin Kim , curator at the Smithsonian…

People in this episode

Guests: K.W. Lee, Sojin Kim, Ranko Yamada, Julie Ha

Topics covered

• unsolved murders
• Chinatown
• justice
• investigative journalism
• Asian American activism
• criminal justice

Keywords

• Chol Soo Lee
• K.W. Lee
• Chinatown murders
• Asian American justice
• 1970s San Francisco
• Free Chol Soo Lee documentary

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Smithsonian Institution

Books & works: Free Chol Soo Lee

Places: San Francisco, Chinatown

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