‘The Young General, a well-known North Korean animated film? Are you also from the North?’
On July 14, during the third North Korean Refugees Day, a showing of *Start Hana*, an online drama showcasing the business challenges faced by North Korean defector students, took place at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. The crowd laughed when Na Young-gwang, a North Korean defector student who often hid his unique accent by saying he was from Gangwon Province, was revealed by Oh Chang-yeop, another defector. Young-gwang, who had previously mentioned liking *The Young General* as a child, was instantly identified as a defector by Chang-yeop.
The depiction of Young-gwang concealing his North Korean background reflects the actual experiences of Cha Wi-sung (27), a North Korean defector actor who portrays Chang-yeop. At the event, Cha stated, “Pretending to be from Gangwon Province is the most frequent approach used by North Korean defector students.” Originally from Hyesan, Yanggang Province, Cha fled North Korea in 2010 and moved to Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, the next year after traveling through China, Laos, and Thailand.
He shared with friends that he was “from Gangwon Province,” but his true background was soon revealed, leading to him being bullied during his elementary school years. After relocating to Anseong in Gyeonggi Province, he attended a special school for defectors and later enrolled in the Department of Theater at Dongguk University. “I believed that acting could alter how North Korean defectors are viewed,” Cha mentioned, noting that he made his debut as a theater actor on Daehak-ro in 2019 and has continued to appear in productions focusing on the lives of defectors.
Cha said, “In my youth, I concealed my identity as a defector due to embarrassment, but now I embrace it more than anyone else. I wish to demonstrate that defectors are not merely individuals in need of assistance but people who can accomplish their own objectives in their own environments.”
*Start Hana* is a 12-episode short-form series, with each episode lasting five minutes, created by the Korea Hana Foundation under the Ministry of Unification. It serves as a follow-up to *Hana Company*, the web drama from last year that focused on the workplace integration of defectors. The event was attended by around 1,000 individuals, including North Korean defectors and students studying North Korea-related fields. Two defectors, Cha and Lee Il-cheon, who also portray the character Lee Il-cheon, are featured in the drama. Cha mentioned, “We worked closely with the production team on every dialect and expression to ensure the work feels natural even for North Koreans.”
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