At a tiny school in Busan, defector teenagers come of age, shaped by families who risked everything to escape North Korea. ⍟ World Premiere
Director: Jeremy Workman
Runtime: 93
Fest Year: 2026
Over 30,000 North Korean defectors live in South Korea, invisibilized and discriminated against. But for the 20 students of Busan’s tiny Jangdaehyun School, being children of defectors is what defines them: all teenagers navigating adolescence while also bearing the burden of their parents’ actions. Jeremy Workman—whose last film, Secret Mall Apartment (2024), also delved into a liminal space that challenged definitions of the inside and outside—visited South Korea as an outsider, and was pulled into the story of people whose identities are also defined by the arbitrary rulings of space and position. Filmed in extreme collaboration to ensure the safety of everyone involved, School for Defectors not only gives us access to a world that is barely spoken of but also gives us a peek into the generation that will be South Korea’s future. (BC)