탈북의 영화적 표상과 공간 상상

The Cinematic Representation and Imaginary Space of the North Korean Defectors

One of the most outstanding phenomena in the Korean film industry lately is that there has been an increasing interest in the experience of the North Korean defectors. The reproduction of the North Korean defectors' experience has been captured in diverse formats such as in Korean blockbuster movies, independent movies and movies directed by Korean-Chinese directors. This paper focus on presence of North Korean defectors who are slowly appearing in cultural areas while containing a comprehensive and diverse meaning of themselves and the phenomenon called defecting from North Korea. I first examine how this generation perceives the North Korean defectors, how films regard those people or their status with what kind of understanding and in what cultural inspiration or context or meaning those North Korean defectors are being symbolized within films. By doing so, I draw some cultural implications of the existence of the North Korean defectors or the phenomenon of defecting from North Korea within the cultural landscape of this generation. Furthermore, I examine the imaginary space and geological perception provided by the symbol of defecting from North Korea. In doing so, I am questioning the socio-cultural context depicted by the imaginary space of Asia.