TEST OF WILL: CANADA IN KOREA

DOCUMENTARY TWO HOURS

Editor: Melanie McDonald
Writer/Producer: Richard Nielsen
Narrator: John Jarvis
Music: John Lang

Test of Will: Canada in Korea is a two-hour documentary, focusing on Canada's role in the Korean War. Archival photographs, film footage, and radio reports are combined with letters, speeches, articles, and reports from the time read by off-camera actors who assume the identity of the author of the written material. It is the little known story of the Canadian involvement in Korea, the first war in which Canadian troops served directly under foreign (American) command as part of a United Nations force. It is a neglected war, largely because the number of soldiers involved and casualties suffered paled when compared with the much larger national engagement in the two World Wars.

Yet it was a pivotal moment in Canada's history, both for its role in shaping the geopolitical order of the Cold War era - for it established that the Western allies were prepared to use force to stop the rise of totalitarianism's most serious threat: communism - and for the opportunity it provided for Canada's continued rise to prominence as a serious and respected "middle power" interested in protecting and promoting the ideals of peace, order and good (that is, democratic and responsible) government on the world stage.

The production benefits from having had the council of two well-known and respected authors who have published books on the subject of the Korean War, John Melady, author of Korea; Canada's Forgotten War, and Ted Barris, author of Deadlock in Korea. Both of these titles are considered to be amongst the highest ranks of books written on the subject.

Test of Will; Canada in Korea is not only the history of the Canadians; it is also the history of world events, illustrating the struggle between democracy and communism taking place at the time. It is also very much a story of the Korean people themselves; of incredible suffering and loss, but also of incredible courage and strength.

HISTORY TELEVISION/BRAVO 2002