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Endless Wandering

The Escape from North Korea in "Crossing" and "Journals of Musan"

Author(s): Roman Husarski
Subject(s): Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: North Korean defectors; South Korean cinema; Sunshine policy; reunification movies; refugee movies
Summary/Abstract: The North Korean defectors are still not accepted by the South Korean society. According to recent studies, the defectors earn less, face discrimination and are more prone to suicide than an average South Korean. The negative stereotypes are also present in the South Korean cinema: the defectors are often portrayed as betrayers, criminals who run away from Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) or as communist spies. However, presenting defectors’ personal stories is limited. Two movies have been selected: "Crossing" (2008) and "Journals of Musan" (2010) to analyze the strategies used by the North Korean refugees to adjust to a new environment, and to examine the way this process is presented. I argue that both films are a challenge for the South Korean audience as the fatalistic message they convey is a reminder of a still poor situation of the DPRK defectors in South Korea.

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