So I'm watching The Military Channel on youtube, specifically the history of MiG's. I learn about this Soviet pilot who defected to the US by piloting his MiG 25 to Japan. In the Wiki entry I read about this other guy, No Kum-Sok aka Kenneth Rowe. The guy flies his MiG 15 from North Korea to an air force base in South Korea during the Korean War. I'm just wondering how gutsy was that defecting from North Korea, and flying an enemy plane to an enemy air force base hoping they let you land instead of shoot you down. Thankfully he has written a book about it. "A MiG 15 to Freedom." I just have one question:
Why the hell hasn't a movie been made about this guy?
Post Post - Kenneth Rowe talking about his landing:
It would make a cool little poke in the eye for N. Korea.
ReplyDeleteOn second thought, that's probably why Hollywood won't make it.
Hey Captain,
ReplyDeleteI can't say for sure why no one has made a movie about this guy, but perhaps this story might shed some light. I'm not a huge movie going fan, but a few weeks ago, I went to see "Argo," a movie based on the Iran hostage crisis. One of the kids (actually, an adult kid) asked why I would go see a "documentary" (his word) when there are all kinds of really good movies out there like "Wreck it Ralph." Well, draw your own conclusions...
I'm just wondering how gutsy was that defecting from North Korea,
ReplyDeleteDear sir, it's even more gutsy to defect to North Korea and that is exactly what Dreadnock, Hapsher, Jenkins and a few others did and it in fact improved their life standard compared to what they were before they defected.
Heck I feel like defecting to North Korea now, I am DYING in Canada.
My sentiments exactly.
ReplyDeleteMr. Rowe was an excellent professor. I had him for an elective class during my senior year at Embry-Riddle.
Among those of us at Embry-Riddle who were in the engineering department, the story of Mr. Rowe's defection from North Korea was well-known, but we didn't talk a lot about it. When we did talk about it, it was in very hushed, reverential tones.
But No Kum-Sok (Kenneth Rowe) is a true hero. And yes, I always wondered why they never made a movie about his defection. Absolutely breathtaking.
My wife is reading his book now, and she is fascinated with it.
Fagot or Foxbat? Examples of both were made available by defectors.
ReplyDeleteThat MIG is on display at the National Museum of the USAF in Dayton, OH.
ReplyDeleteYou know why the movie was never made. It doesn't fit the Hollywood narrative of "Socialism good, capitalism bad."
Well, you see that the wise men of Hollywood have decreed that the only stories worth telling are those that don't show the communists in a bad light.
ReplyDeleteBecause the media hates American success stories. You should have read the reviews of the Red Dawn remake.
ReplyDeleteWhy no movie about him?
ReplyDeleteBecause he attacked communism. Duh.
Please, they've made a single big budget movie about the Soviet gulags (I forget the name, but it starred Ed Harris), but it was crappy and they shelved it for a bit and released it with little fan fare.
If you're looking for the truth, don't go to Hollywood.
Back in high school, I read a book about the MiG-25 pilot. It's appropriately titled "MiG Pilot" http://www.amazon.com/Mig-Pilot-Final-Escape-Belenko/dp/0380538687/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355667688&sr=8-1&keywords=mig+pilot
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, I heard an brief analysis of "Zero Dark Thirty" this weekend. Turns out the young woman heroin in the movie was a fabrication of the director. The real CIA lead was a man, and it was very much a team effort.
ReplyDeleteI cannot bring my self to see these Hollywood creations when they continue to embelish and lie to promote their narrative.
The Norks are so crazy, if you defect they punish your relatives. They also occasionally rubber boat in assassins.
ReplyDeleteFor that reason, they probably don't let you fly a MiG if you're an orphan. Maybe the rest of his family was already in labor camps. Or he just said "fuck it/'em".
My Dad was a young 2nd Lt (are there any other kind?) working on the tarmac at Kimpo A.F. when the Mr. Rowe landed. Fifty years later (less 2 days) I took Dad to the Edvard-Hazey Center of NASM to see the MiG-15. It took a few moments for him to realize it was the same jet from 50 years earlier.
ReplyDeleteI took a picture at the moment the penny dropped. Photo came out very well considering how blurry the viewfinder was.
You got the picture?
ReplyDelete