Endless wandering : the escape from North Korea in "Crossing" and "Journals of Musan"

The North Korean defectors are still not accepted by the South Korean society. According to recent studies, the defectors earn less, face discrimination and are more prone to suicide than an average South Korean. The negative stereotypes are also present in the South Korean cinema: the defectors are oft en portrayed as betrayers, criminals who run away from Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) or as communist spies. However, presenting defectors' personal stories is limited. Two movies have been selected: Crossing (2008) and Journals of Musan (2010) to analyze the strategies used by the North Korean refugees to adjust to a new environment, and to examine the way this process is presented. I argue that both fi lms are a challenge for the South Korean audience as the fatalistic message they convey is a reminder of a still poor situation of the DPRK defectors in South Korea