The first trailer was released for the North Korean refugee drama “Hana South Korea,” starring “Pachinko” Kim Min-ha, ahead of the world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival.
This is the first time I’ve seen a Danish-Korean co-production in the trailer. Denmark and South Korean refugees follow Hyun, a young North Korean refugee who has to arrive in South Korea fast and fast and navigate the emotional and cultural challenges of starting over in a high-performance society while facing the prices of freedom and her past prices.
Danish filmmaker Frederick Solberg wrote and directed the drama in his story’s feature debut, following the award-winning documentary “Doel.” The project is co-written by Sungjae “Sharon” Choi. This is best known as the interpreter for Bong Joon-Ho.
Having gained international recognition for his portrayal of young Sunja on Apple TV+’s “Pachinko,” Kim leads the cast, including Kim Joo-Ryoung from Netflix’s “Squid Game” and Seo-Hyun from Bong Joon-Ho’s “Okja.”
In a statement from the director, Solberg described the six-year development process as “one of the most transformative periods of my artistic journey,” and described his collaboration with North Korean refugee High Orin as both research and “self-construction.”
“Through this process, I have become able to see filmmaking as a dialogue rather than a statement, which is the act of witnessing a balance between intimacy and distance and respect,” Solberg said.
“Hana Korea” is produced by Sara Stockmann of Copenhagen-based Sonntag Pictures and is produced by Heejung Oh of Seoul’s Seesaw Photography with support from the Denish Film Institute, the Korean Film Council and other international funding agencies. International sales are processed by Rinvent.
The film will premiere the world at Flash Forward Strand in Busan.
Check out the trailer here:
