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Korean films feature an array of characters tackling themes relating to Korean society. Independent films especially have focused on working class characters and their struggles, which remains evident in the films that young filmmakers continue to make.

With the release of independent feature Hana Korea (2025) directed by Danish filmmaker Frederik Sølberg in what is his first narrative feature film, it once again sheds light on the plight of North Korean defectors trying to adapt to life in South Korean society. This is not a new theme with several other films having focused on defectors over the past twenty years.

The Journals of Musan & Independent Films of the 2010s

One of the most significant earlier examples of a film examining this theme is Park Jung-bum's The Journals of Musan (2011) that is based on the life of the director's friend. The film is gritty and bleak in its portrayal of a North Korean played by Park himself having come to the South to find a better life but faces much discrimination when he tries to secure employment.

The Journals of Musan (2011)

The film premiered at the Busan International Film Festival winning the New Currents Award before taking the Tiger Award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. This came two years after Yang Ik-June's Breathless (2008) who also stars as the protagonist in his own film won the same award as Korea's independent industry was garnering strength.

The Journals of Musan wasn't the only film of the early 2010s to center on a North Korean defector. Jeon Kyu-hwan's Dance Town (2011) released in the same year centers on a former North Korean ping-pong player who struggles with loneliness in the South after defecting. Akin to many other films exploring this theme it was invited to leading festivals having screened at the Berlin Film Festival – long a keen supporter of Korean cinema like Rotterdam.

Beautiful Days (2018)

The 2010s saw several other films approaching this topic. Interestingly, many of Jero Yun's films have featured North Korean defectors. His documentary Mrs. B., a North Korean Woman (2016) is filled with so much tension and drama it echoes a thriller as it follows a North Korean woman who attempts to get her family out of North Korea after marrying a Chinese father. The director's next film Beautiful Days (2018) stars Lee Na-young as a North Korean defector who flees the North leaving her husband (Oh Kwang-rok) and son (Jang Dong-yoon). Her boy later comes to South Korea, but he holds deep resentment towards her. The film opened the Busan International Film Festival in 2018.

Fighter (2020)

Yun's subsequent film Fighter (2020) about a North Korean boxer (Lim Sung-mi) who is trying to bring her father to South Korea would also premiere in Busan. It also secured invitations at other festivals including Berlin. A common theme among these titles are characters facing obstacles adjusting to life in the South that stands in stark contrast to the North. The South is full of vibrancy and wealth and yet for North Korean defectors in these films they can feel very isolated. They can also experience discrimination that is also highlighted in many of these films along with their determination for their loved ones to join them in South Korea.

Independent Films of the 2020s

3670 (2025)

In the 2020s Korean independent films have continued to focus on these characters. A compelling example is Park Joon-ho's 3670 (2025), which premiered at the San Francisco International Film Festival before screening in competition at the Jeonju International Film Festival where it picked up four awards including Best Actor for the lead Kim Hyun-mok. The film stands out for how it depicts a defector played by Kim seeking to integrate himself into Seoul's gay community. Unlike many Korean films focusing on these characters, it doesn't really delve into the life of being a defector. It is more centrally about the relationships he has with others and coming out.

Hana Korea is also unusual as it is an international co-production between South Korea and Denmark. It has a slightly different sensibility in the way the film is crafted having been directed by a Danish filmmaker potentially making it more accessible for international viewers – not too dissimilar to the Belgium South Korean co-production Reach for the SKY (2015) about Korea's education system.

Bong Joon Ho's translator Sharon Choi co-wrote the script for Hana Korea while rising star Kim Min-ha plays the North Korean defector adjusting to life in the South as she seeks to become a Nurse. The story is based on in-depth interviews with around 30 North Korean defectors at a training facility in a suburb south of Seoul called Hanawon. The director grew curious about division after visiting a Korean restaurant and meeting two men. One of them said his wish was to have Hana (one) Korea.

Commercial Films

Escape (2024)

Although it's independent films that tend to go to greater lengths in exploring the subject of North Korean characters reflecting wider social commentary seen in Korean independent cinema, commercial films have also depicted defectors. One such example is the spy-thriller The Suspect (2014) starring Gong Yoo. Over recent years there have been a wider range of titles featuring North Korean characters including In Our Prime (2022) in which Choi Min-sik stars as a North Korean mathematician who works a security guard at an elite school, and Park So-dam plays a delivery driver from North Korea in the action crime film Special Cargo (2022). Lee Jong-pil's riveting Escape (2024) follows a North Korean sergeant (Lee Je-hoon) in The Korean People's Army who seeks to flee into South Korea in his pursuit for freedom. It was a modest success accruing 2.5m tickets.

It's not just in films, series on Netflix have also featured North Korean characters. A well-known example is the defector in the first season of the smash hit Squid Game acted by Jung Ho-yeon who is trying to win the game so she can bring her parents to South Korea.

Written by Jason Bechervaise
Edited by kofic