Synopsis

The title Bira isn’t one that makes you want to find about the movie. The reason being that PARK Sang-hak and his activities have been overexposed through the media, making the topic of ‘bira’ quite boring. But this documentary by the bold thirty-something Korean-American Wesley CHO is decidedly unique. It sets aside the controversy within South Korea about bira, and begins with the question, ‘How on earth are North Koreans reacting to these flyers?’ If you’re curious, then you’ve got to go. That’s what a documentary is. So Wesley CHO goes. Posing as a tourist, he passes through Hamggyeongbukdo Province into North Korea and tries to get live testimony from its residents. This is what makes this documentary interesting because what North Koreans think and how they react is the key to the issue. As we listen to them speak their minds, we notice their attitude is quite firm and decisive. What’s more important is that we are surprised to see they are quite logical. This is something that’s hard to see among South Koreans who are actually spreading the bira (flyers). What a remarkable twist. The comments of a woman who defected from North Korea resonates for a long while. She called North Korea’s ‘Arduous March’ of 1995 ‘the iron gate between capitalism and socialism’. Are you curious what that means? Then go find out at the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival. (OH Dong-jin)

Director

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  Wesley CHO
  

  삐라 Bira (2015)
  Transiam (2011)
  Alive in Havana (2010)
  
  

Credits

• Director/Producer/Cinematographer/Editor  Wesley CHO
• Music  Andrew KELLER