
The Red Lily
1924


On June 3, 1973, a man was murdered in a busy intersection of San Francisco’s Chinatown as part of an ongoing gang war. Chol Soo Lee, a 20-year-old Korean immigrant who had previous run-ins with the law, was arrested and convicted based on flimsy evidence and the eyewitness accounts of white tourists who couldn’t distinguish between Asian features. Sentenced to life in prison, Chol Soo Lee would spend years fighting to survive behind bars before journalist K.W. Lee took an interest in his case. The intrepid reporter’s investigation would galvanize a first-of-its-kind pan-Asian American grassroots movement to fight for Chol Soo Lee’s freedom, ultimately inspiring a new generation of social justice activists.
Directed by Eugene Yi


Chol Soo Lee
Self (archive footage)
Sebastian Yoon
Narrator (voice)
Ranko Yamada
Self - Friend; Defense Committee
K.W. Lee
Self - Investigative Reporter

Jeff Adachi
Self - Activist
David Kakishiba
Self - Activist
Jay Kun Yoo
Self - Chair, Defense Committee
Grace Kim
Self - Vice-chair, Defense Committee

1924

1997

2001

1975

1976

1969

2024

1998

2003

1963

1995

1970