Repatriation

These men, and many others like them, underwent conversion schemes in prison that involved torture: those who renounced their communist beliefs were released from prison early. The others, known as ‘the unconverted’, served their full terms. None could return home to the North, however, until the turn of this century, when tensions between North and South eased significantly. Director Dong-won Kim followed these men for ten years, documenting how they survived – both physically and psychologically – the dehumanising time spent in prison, and their quest, once released, to finally go home. (Independent Cinema Office)