Documentary backdrop image for Looking for North Koreans (2012)

Documentary backdrop image for Looking for North Koreans (2012)

201265 minGdocumentary

Looking for North Koreans

201265 minGdocumentary

A South Korean director travels along the China-North Korean border to meet North Korean refugees who share their stories.

Genres

Director

Synopsis

A South Korean director travels along the China-North Korean border to meet North Korean refugees who share their stories.

People

Jéro Yun

Jéro Yundirector

Jéro Yun

Jéro Yunwriter

Synopsis

Jero Yun travels along the China-North Korea border. The South Korean director seeks to learn about North Koreans. He meets North Korean refugees who share their stories. Their accounts detail life in North Korea and the struggles faced in escaping. This 2012 documentary is 65 minutes long. It presents a personal perspective on the experiences of individuals affected by the division of the Korean Peninsula.

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

Inside North Korea: The Kim Dynasty (2018)

Inside North Korea: The Kim Dynasty

2018•44m•★8.0TMDB

Defectors from North Korea recount their experiences under Kim Jong-un's regime, revealing the gap between state propaganda and everyday life.

Inside North Korea: The Kim Dynasty

Inside North Korea: The Next Leader (2020)

Inside North Korea: The Next Leader

2020•44m•★6.8TMDB

Over 70 years of dynastic rule by the Kim family shapes North Korea's leadership and influences potential successors to Kim Jong-un.

Inside North Korea: The Next Leader

North Korean defectors become TV stars in the South (2017)

North Korean defectors become TV stars in the South

North Korean defectors, now numbering over 30,000 in South Korea, participate in a TV show that quizzes them about their lives under the regime.

North Korean defectors become TV stars in the South

Traveling through North Korea (2020)

Traveling through North Korea

Two Berliners traveled 25 hours by train from Beijing to Pyongyang, where they were chaperoned by guides for a week in North Korea.

Traveling through North Korea

What Happens To North Koreans Who Try To Escape? | Witness (2024)

What Happens To North Koreans Who Try To Escape? | Witness

North Korean defectors face significant challenges in South Korea, including trauma, discrimination, and the emotional toll of leaving family behind.

What Happens To North Koreans Who Try To Escape? | Witness

Being with Refugees (2025)

Being with Refugees

Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan share their daily lives and struggles, as filmmakers document their experiences amid ongoing humanitarian challenges.

Being with Refugees

Undercover with North Korean Defectors (2024)

Undercover with North Korean Defectors

Dragon, a human smuggler, abandons North Korean defectors Sook-Ja and Yong-hee during their perilous escape, highlighting the risks faced by many in hiding.

Undercover with North Korean Defectors

From a Nazi childhood to living with a Syrian refugee (2019)

From a Nazi childhood to living with a Syrian refugee

A 94-year-old woman who was a member of the Hitler Youth shares an apartment in Berlin with a Syrian refugee named Amer.

From a Nazi childhood to living with a Syrian refugee

Canada - The return of the Blackfoot (2025)

Canada - The return of the Blackfoot

More dancers are participating in powwows than ever before, with many young people expressing pride in their Blackfoot heritage and traditions.

Canada - The return of the Blackfoot

Explore Looking for North Koreans

Where else to watch

Inside North Korea: The Kim Dynasty (2018)

Inside North Korea: The Kim Dynasty

2018•44m•★8.0TMDB

Defectors from North Korea recount their experiences under Kim Jong-un's regime, revealing the gap between state propaganda and everyday life.

Inside North Korea: The Kim Dynasty

No digital watch option in your country

Inside North Korea: The Next Leader (2020)

Inside North Korea: The Next Leader

2020•44m•★6.8TMDB

Over 70 years of dynastic rule by the Kim family shapes North Korea's leadership and influences potential successors to Kim Jong-un.

Inside North Korea: The Next Leader

No digital watch option in your country

The Mole: Undercover in North Korea (2020)

The Mole: Undercover in North Korea

2020•2h3m•★7.1TMDB

Two men spend a decade infiltrating North Korea to gather intelligence on the oppressive conditions under Kim Jong-un's regime.

The Mole: Undercover in North Korea

Kimjongilia (2012)

Kimjongilia

2012•1h15m•★6.3TMDB

More than 75 minutes of interviews with North Korean defectors reveal their experiences in prison camps and the harsh conditions they endured.

Repatriation (2004)

Repatriation

2004•2h29m•★6.4TMDB

More than 30 years of imprisonment ended for unconverted long-term prisoners from North Korea when they were repatriated to the North in the 1990s.

Crossing the Line (2006)

Crossing the Line

2006•1h34m•★7.5TMDB

James J. Dresnok defected to North Korea on 15 August 1962, becoming a notable figure in the country's propaganda efforts.

Crossing the Line

Inside North Korea (2006)

Inside North Korea

2006•52m•★6.9TMDB

Lisa Ling poses as an undercover medical coordinator in North Korea, revealing the daily struggles of its citizens under Kim Jong-il's regime.

Inside North Korea

Brussels-Transit (1982)

Brussels-Transit

1982•1h22m•★6.6TMDB

Thirty years after the last Yiddish feature film, Samy Szlingerbaum presents a narrative of his family's search for refuge following World War II.

Brussels-Transit

Browse more like this

What Happens To North Koreans Who Try To Escape? | Witness (2024)

What Happens To North Koreans Who Try To Escape? | Witness

North Korean defectors face significant challenges in South Korea, including trauma, discrimination, and the emotional toll of leaving family behind.

What Happens To North Koreans Who Try To Escape? | Witness

No digital watch option in your country

Being with Refugees (2025)

Being with Refugees

Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan share their daily lives and struggles, as filmmakers document their experiences amid ongoing humanitarian challenges.

Being with Refugees

No digital watch option in your country

From a Nazi childhood to living with a Syrian refugee (2019)

From a Nazi childhood to living with a Syrian refugee

A 94-year-old woman who was a member of the Hitler Youth shares an apartment in Berlin with a Syrian refugee named Amer.

From a Nazi childhood to living with a Syrian refugee

No digital watch option in your country

Seoul Train (2004)

Seoul Train

2004•54m•★5.9TMDB

North Korean refugees face severe punishment and forced repatriation as they flee through China, supported by activists along the perilous route.

Children Gone to Poland (2018)

Children Gone to Poland

2018•1h18m•★10.0TMDB

Two women from North and South Korea trace the lives of North Korean orphans sent to Poland during the Korean War.

Children Gone to Poland

Loyal Citizens of Pyongyang in Seoul (2018)

Loyal Citizens of Pyongyang in Seoul

2018•38m•★10.0TMDB

North Korean defectors in Seoul share their experiences and challenge the narratives surrounding life in North Korea, questioning the authenticity of defector testimonies.

Loyal Citizens of Pyongyang in Seoul

Cinema in the Land of Comrade Kim (2024)

Cinema in the Land of Comrade Kim

2024•25m•★10.0TMDB

In the 1970s, Kim Jong Il orchestrated the kidnapping of South Korean director Shin Sang-ok and actress Choi Eun-hee to fulfill his cinematic ambitions.

Cinema in the Land of Comrade Kim

North Korea: A Day in the Life (2004)

North Korea: A Day in the Life

2004•48m•★6.7TMDB

A typical North Korean family engages in daily routines that reflect their dedication to the nation and the legacy of General Kim Jong Il.

North Korea: A Day in the Life

The Wheels of Wonder (2020)

The Wheels of Wonder

2020•1h9m•★5.0TMDB

1.5 million Syrian refugees live in Lebanon, prompting a team to test a prototype play cart designed to create play opportunities for children.

The Wheels of Wonder

Browse more by Jéro Yun

View all films →

Song Hae 1927 (2021)

Song Hae 1927

2021

Letters (2017)

Letters

2017

Mrs. B., a North Korean Woman (2017)

Mrs. B., a North Korean Woman

2017

Breath (2025)

Breath

2025

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →