hankyoreh

When a student from North Korea asked the film director how to make a good movie, his answer was that you need to find a good crew.

The arrival of a visitor from abroad at Jangdaehyun School on Oct. 11 elicited oohs and aahs from the 17 students. The visitor was American film director Greg Kwedar.

Jangdaehyun School in Busan is the only alternative school for North Korean defectors in South Korea’s southern provinces.

Kwedar was in Busan because his film “Transpecos” was one of nine films in the “midnight passion” category of the 21st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), which kicked off on Oct. 6.

“In the sense that I want to create a world without war and discrimination, I think that the message of my movie coincides with what a number of these students are thinking,” said Kwedar, who was connected with Jangdaehyun School by the US Embassy to South Korea.

Kwedar talked about how he had dreamed of being a pilot. After taking a trip to the border of Mexico while in university ten years ago, he said, he gave up his accounting major, which would have guaranteed him a steady job, and became a film director instead. Shooting video on the trip had taught him the power of film, and he dropped out of university without looking back.

In 2012, Kwedar released the documentary “Rising from Ashes,” which was inspired by a bicycle journey around Rwanda by five young men from five different tribes who were trying to bring peace to their country after a civil war marked by civilian massacres. The documentary follows the cyclists for six years as they prepare to compete in the Olympics. It was featured in 16 film festivals around the world.

Kwedar said that he made “Transpecos,” his first full-length film, to encourage people to think twice about a proposed American policy to build a wall to stop the influx of Mexican refugees into the US. On Oct. 11, the director showed students short clips of some of his best-known works and talked about how he had come to produce them.

The class was originally supposed to last for an hour, from 12:30 pm until 1:30 pm, but it ended up continuing until 3 pm, after Kwedar joined the students for a meal of bibimbap (rice mixed with vegetables). The students were full of questions. They asked Kwedar about tips for making movies and about the difficulties he faced in casting.

Kwedar encouraged one male student who confessed having second thoughts about his plans to become a producer. “If you give it your best shot, you will achieve your dreams,” the director said. When one female student told him that she wanted to go to university to make inspiring movies with her friends, he told her that he hoped she succeeded in her plans and promised to help if she got in touch with him.

Before fielding the students’ questions, Kwedar had them all draw pictures and then explain them one at a time. When Park Cheol-min, a 17-year-old male student, said that he had drawn a picture of the people of North and South Korea together on a ship headed for the ocean, the classroom broke into applause.

The class with the American film director and the North Korean students ended with some guitar playing. First, Kwedar sang the song he had used to propose to his wife (a math teacher) while playing the guitar. Next, Park played and sang “Friend,” a song by Ahn Jae-wook, while the whole class sang along with him.

After class was over, a Hankyoreh reporter asked Kwedar and the students to share their thoughts. “I was impressed by how eager the students are to learn new things and how they use drawings to express their thoughts,” Kwedar said.

“It was really neat to actually meet a film director and to hear about the filmmaking process. My dream is to become a magician, and I want to take a shot at achieving my dream just like Mr. Kwedar,” said Cho Gwang-eun, an 18-year-old male student.

“I wasn’t expecting much, but I was impressed. This reminded me that you never know about someone until you meet them,” said Jang Eun-suk, a 19-year-old female student.

Jangdaehyun School was established in Mar. 2014 by people who wanted to help North Korean teenagers who had risked their lives to come to South Korea but were challenged by bullying and by the language barrier at South Korean schools. The school is designed to prevent those teenagers from dropping out of school and losing their way. In July 2013, the foundation behind the school was certified by South Korea’s Ministry of Unification. In Nov. 2014, Jangdaehyun was selected by the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education as an alternative school, which means that students there receive credit for a middle school education.

The building was donated by a benefactor. The students are taught by four salaried teachers and by more than 50 former and current teachers and experts who donate their time and talents. The salaries of the full-time teachers and the operating costs of the school are covered by a fund composed of contributions from the public and by the proceeds of concerts.

Currently, 17 students between the ages of 17 and 23 are living at the school and working on their middle and high school coursework. This year, two students were notified of their acceptance to universities through the rolling admission program.

News of the good educational program and learning conditions has already brought in more than 80 applications for the next academic year, but a shortage of dormitory rooms and classrooms limits enrollment to 22 students.

“We would like to take over a vacated school so that we can look after more struggling North Korean students and help them adjust to South Korean schools. We are in desperate need of help from the civil authorities,” said Lim Chang-ho, principle at Jangdaehyun School and a professor at Kosin University.

By Kim Kwang-soo, Busan correspondent

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