FULLY BOOKED THIRD PARTY EVENT What does the future hold for the people of North Korea?

Talk October 5, 2012 6:30 PM

An event hosted by Mosaic Films to launch their new project Nothing to Envy.

We are developing an animated feature film about real lives in North Korea, to be written and directed by BAFTA award-winning filmmaker Andy Glynne. Told through the stories of defectors, Nothing to Envy will combine their testimony with animation to provide an insight into the lives of ordinary North Koreans.

Throughout the making of the film, we want to engage audiences with some of the issues surrounding North Korea, and are starting this with an event at the Frontline Club. Right now, with the recent accession of Kim Jong-un all eyes are on North Korea, asking important questions about its political and economic future and the impact this will have on the North Korean people. Joining us to discuss these issues are:

Kim Joo-il, North Korean defector and Campaigner.

Baroness Cox, vice chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on North Korea and CEO of the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART).

Aidan Foster-Carter, Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Sociology and Modern Korea, University of Leeds.

Rajiv Narayan, researcher for East Asia Team at Amnesty International.

North Korea remains one of the most inaccessible – and the most unfilmable – places in the world. Barbara Demick’s book opened the doors into the lives of ordinary North Koreans and provided a real insight into their stories and the hardships they face. But what is life like in North Korea now, 3 years since the book was written, and since the death of Kim Jong-il and the succession of his son Kim Jong-un?

We’ll be asking our panel about the impact of the new leader on the ordinary people of North Korea and what this might mean for their futures, as well as what continues to drive North Koreans to defect and whether there are any signs of a resistance. We’ll also be discussing what (if anything) we can do to address North Korea’s human rights situation, and the role that projects like Nothing to Envy can have in this.

You are welcome to arrive from 6:30pm for a 7pm start. Complimentary drinks and nibbles will be served.