Burden of Freedom – 2018
Documentary, 09:50, digital.
Interviews with Jang Yu Bin, Im Yeon Hee, Yi Young Joo
Created by Sae Yong Lee
As of 2018, approximately 30,000 North Korean refugees have settled in South Korea since the establishment of Hanawon in 1999, a government institute founded to support North Korean refugees.* According to these refugees, the most common and safest route for escaping North Korea is to cross the Duman River and enter China, where the real challenges begin. Many North Korean refugees fall victim to human trafficking and forced marriages, while others face deportation back to North Korea and incarceration in prison camps. While they are considered illegal immigrants in China, only a small percentage of North Koreans manage to reach South Korea. This documentary features interviews with three North Korean refugees settled in South Korea, who share their traumatic border-crossing experiences and discuss human rights violations occurring in both North Korea and China. What price did they pay for their freedom? Additionally, how would the South Korean government address the stigma surrounding these individuals and the history of the North Korean regime in the event of unification on the Korean peninsula?
Social activist collectives Damda.asia and YouTube channel BaNa TV facilitated contact with North Korean refugees for these interviews. Their essential contributions were invaluable in the making of this film.
* “북한 이탈주민 정착지원,” 통일부 (Ministry of Unification in Korean Peninsula). Accessed May 14, 2018.
https://www.unikorea.go.kr/unikorea/business/NKDefectorsPolicy/status/lately/.