The Korea Institute of Harvard University will host a screening of “Divided Families,” a documentary about families separated due to the Korean War. Following the screen will be a discussion with Jason Ahn, the director and executive producer and Jieun Baek, the producer of the film.
About the Film:
When the border was drawn between North and South Korea, hundreds of thousands of family members were left divided. During the Korean War (1950-1953) even more families were dislocated in the chaos of war. Over 60 years have passed since then and many Koreans immigrated to the United States in search of peace and hope. There are an estimated 100,000 first generation Korean Americans with immediate family members in the North Korea. Many of the family members have already passed away, or are in their 70s-90s. Some have tried to contact their families through informal brokers, but this uncertain avenue has led many divided family members to become disillusioned. Though US Citizens, there are no formal mechanisms for family members in the United States to identify or even dream of reuniting with their families in North Korea. We hope that the film will raise awareness in the global community of this issue by documenting the stories of first generation Korean divided family members currently residing in the United States.
