The temporary division of the Korean peninsula made at the end of the Second World War was made permanent at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. Korea is still two – North and South – to this date.
In recent years, the number of North Korean defectors has been increasing and every year over 1,000 North Koreans defect to South Korea via China or Southeast Asian nations every year.
In total about 10,000 North Koreans currently live in South Korea.
Despite a growing number of North Koreans who risk their lives to find asylum in South Korea, the refugee issue has rarely gotten attention in the media here, much less on the silver screen.
Since the issue can be regarded as politically sensitive, few movies have tackled the issue so far. But a soon to be released picture is about to shine the spotlight on the arduous and risky process of defectors coming south.
Crossing, directed by Kim Tae-gyoon deals with the miserable reality faced by North Korean defectors. It is based on the true stories of dozens of North Korean defectors, including some involved in the March 2002 incident in which 25 defectors pushed their way past Chinese guards into the Spanish Embassy in Beijing.
In the film, Yong-su (played by Cha In-pyo), a North Korean in a mining town in the country's northeast, leads a tough life with his wife, Yong-hwa and his 11-year-old son Jun-i.
When he finds out that his wife is sick, he sees no other option but to cross the border to China to make money to buy medicine for her treatment.
While in China, he falsely believes that he can get more money in the form of special subsidies if he contacts South Korean officials in China, but this decision lands him in South Korean territory, turning his status into that of a North Korean defector.
While Yong-su is transferred to Seoul, his wife dies and this pushes Jun-i to cross the border himself to reunite with his father.
Audiences can feel that the movie is like a documentary rather than a drama since its realistic details are sharpened to perfection by rendering the suffering of North Koreans as it is.
North Korean defectors' organizations supported the film project by offering detailed descriptions of the situation in the North and lending photographs that were used as references for the film.
The production team also interviewed more than 100 North Korean defectors. It took more than a year to interview people and gather information before filming began.
The movie has drawn interest overseas before it is to open in Korea. It premiered in Washington D.C. in April for the meeting of the North Korea Freedom Coalition. It is also scheduled to show at the European Parliament in July.
It will open in theaters across South Korea June 26.
By Han Aran
Korea.net Staff Writer
Source : www.korea.net... ( Arabic English Chinese Korean Spanish French Japanese Russian Vietnamese )
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