Producer on Long Gestation of N.Korean Refugee Film

A film depicting the misery faced by North Korean defectors struck a chord with the audience gathered for a screening at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. last month. Scheduled for release on June 5 here in Korea, the movie starring actor Cha In-pyo is produced by Patrick Cheh, the Korean-American president of Unity Media, who gave a presentation about the film's genesis at the event.

In an interview with the Chosun Ilbo, Cheh said he wanted to show the reality of North Korean refugees. Perseverance, he says, allowed the work to be completed although there is little hope of box-office success. "The movie criticizes the North Korean reality, that its regime violates the clear proposition that the family should live together, and breaks it down when it even fails to meet the basic need for clothes, food and shelter for its people", he said.

It was four years ago that Cheh decided to make a movie on the subject. His father, Cheh Eung-pyo, the head of the Korean American Freedom Fighters Movement who ran Koryo Books in New York, threw his support behind the decision. Cheh succeeded in bringing director Kim Tae-kyun and screenwriter Lee Yoo-jin on board but had no luck finding investors. Financial difficulties were aggravated because he decided not to take financial aid from either the Korean government or civic organizations working for North Korean human rights to avoid politicization.

Despite that, the three traveled a lot to gather ideas for the story. They met hundreds of North Korean refugees and went to Yanbian, China to listen to firsthand stories about life in North Korea. Screenwriter Lee watched more than 100 documentaries on North Korean refugees and spent four years writing the screenplay. Then a miracle happened -- a company volunteered to invest W4 billion (US$1=W1,003) in the production. With that momentum, shooting could finally start in China and Mongolia.

Graduating in computer engineering at Columbia University, Cheh moved to Hollywood in 1990 to pursue a career in film despite opposition of his family. He has produced and directed 12 small and big-budget movies. One of them is "The Watcher" starring Keanu Reeves, which did well at the U.S. box office.

He hopes the new movie will help raise awareness of the North Korean human rights situation.