Danish director Frederick Solberg’s “Hana South Korea” appeared as a crowd favorite at this year’s Busan International Film Festival, bringing home the Flash Forward Competition Audience Awards for its subtle portrayal of North Korea’s defection and resettlement.
The world premiere at Biff, the film represents a creative journey that began with a random encounter in Seoul, culminating in equal Danish co-productions that challenge traditional filmmaking models.
“Fifteen years ago, I first traveled to Korea,” recalls Solberg’s origins. “On my first evening in Seoul, I stepped into a restaurant and started a conversation with two Korean men who attended a war memorial event of sorts. Their English was limited, but they were able to express how deeply influenced they were by the division of Korea.
The encounter was not before years of research and relationship building, but eventually planted seeds that bloom in feature films. Solberg’s appeal to Hanawon, a South Korean consolidation centre for North Korean refugees, led him to make a radio documentary about the facility. “That experience planted seeds for a film about the transformation North Korea is going through, not for North Korea itself. It’s about the meaning of being North Korea in South Korea.”
In 2019, while researching with Danish producer Sara Stockman and Korean producer Heejung Oh, the team met Hyorin, a young North Korean woman who inspires the film’s protagonist. “Hiolin was immediately prominent,” explains Solberg. “She shared stories I had never heard of from North Korean refugees. Her presence, her integrity and sincerity surprised us.”
Importantly, Hiolin challenged Solberg to tell her story. “At the end of our conversation, her message to me was, ‘I want you to make a movie about this. You want it – because you’re not Korean, because you’re not part of the context.” Since then, she’s been involved in the entire process and has invited Solberg to her wedding. “Today we are friends,” he points out.
The script, co-written with Sharon Choi (known for his work with Bong Joon Ho), transformed Healin’s experience into Healin’s fictional character. “Sharon has the unusual ability to combine women’s experiences as a young Korean woman with deep insight into life, along with intellectual reflections on life, identity, and attribution, as well as keen structure, dramature and character development,” says Sølberg.
For his demanding lead role, Solberg turned to Kim Min Ha. “I watched the Apple TV series “Pachinko.” Minha’s star and her performance absolutely blow me away,” the director recalls. “From the moment she walked through the door, it was clear that she fully understood the direction we were taking.”
Minha’s biggest challenge was to master the North Korean dialect. “When I first started working with a dialect coach, the first thing they told me was forgetting what dialect we normally hear in the media,” she explains. “I invested a lot of time and received rapid feedback from my coaches on every take to portray Heen’s hometown dialect more accurately in Liangan.”
The actor approached the role with caution in the progressive transformation of her character. “Heathun is always on guard and is quickly protecting herself. But as she gradually settles into life in the South, she becomes more flexible. I wanted to capture those changes – her softness – through the subtle changes in her expressions, tones and gestures.”
Cinematically, Solberg developed a visual grammar that reflected Newsang’s journey to freedom. “Initially I had guiding principles, it was like a rule. I used a slow film tableau and used a fixed frame whenever HESUN was restricted, restricted or detained.
Working with Dop Stephanie Stål Axelgård, the team extended this concept beyond framing. “We have defined how time, silence, blocks, lighting, colour and production design all enhance Heen’s emotional journey,” explains Solberg. “For us, it was overall important to work in a cinematic style that enhances and supports Shun’s release. She is not only free from the situation she’s finished, but she is also freed from the way the camera sees her and in that sense controls her story.”
The film’s structure is the characters Heen writes to his mother. This is a device inspired by Healin’s actual communications. “In the early stages of development, we were fortunate to have access to High Olin’s letters to her family,” reveals Solberg. “They were deeply heartfelt and reminded me of the gravity of the choices she had to make and how her family remained central throughout her journey.”
For Minha, these letters provided important insights into her personality. “Hee-sung was inspired by a real North Korean refugee woman. This lasted five years while the production team was developing the script. I read her actual letters and they gave me a great inspiration. When I first received the script, the voiceover that moved me the most was incredibly valuable to me.”
“Hana Korea” represents an innovative approach to international collaborative production. Despite the Danish Film Institute being the main funder, the team has established what Solberg calls an “equal co-production structure.”
“We were convinced that films would not be able to succeed unless the Korean perspective was fully integrated from the beginning. “This is the framework in which ‘Hana Korea’ was produced. Korean and Danish producers have worked as equal partners at every stage of production, from early research to final films, and have shared the role of co-leadership. ”
This approach has been extended to a creative process through extensive consultation with North Korean experts and exiles through production. “Over the years, I interviewed nearly 30 North Koreans and spoke with experts and staff,” Sølberg points out. “For us, it was important to create a film based on real-life experience rather than a simplified story.”
“Hiorin always reminds me that this story is not abstract, and that’s true,” he adds. “It gives us a sense of responsibility. We need to do our best to make a film that respects Hiolin and her fellow North Korea.
With Reinvent Handing International Sales, “Hana Korea” is located in a wider festival and theater release.
