영화가 탈북자를 다루는 시선들

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze South Korean films since 2000’s that have deal with North Korean defectors’ issue. To examine this, I will classify them as the following: South Korean popular films; South Korean independent films; and the films made by overseas Koreans or foreigners. First, South Korean popular films intend not so much to pay attention to realities of North Korean defectors and the tragic division of the Korean peninsula, as to be a box office success by showing those circumstances. Thus, those films don’t cover their painful resettlement process or the aspects of national division. However, low-budget independent films, though starring those who escaped North Korea, give more attention to a harsh capitalist society in South Korea,which results in their suffering. These movies describes their lives in South Korea. Zhang Lu, as a Chinese of Korean descent, describes North Korean defectors with patience in his films. He sticks to a warm point of view as if he represented his life as diaspora. On the other hand, A American director N.C. Heikin exposes cool-headedly human rights in North Korea.