The Border City 2

South Korea / 2009 / Hyung-sook Hong / 104 mins

In 2003 Song Du-Yul, a Korean philosophy professor, returned to his homeland after having spent thirty-seven years in political exile in Germany. During his visit to South Korea that year, Song was arrested under suspicion of being a spy for North Korea under the National Security Law His reputation soon fell from that of a respected global political figure to an infamous communist spy. A controversial court case subsequently followed which exposed growing divisions in the liberal south between progressives and conservatives, with the professor’s fate caught squarely in between.

Director, Hong Hyungsook obtained unique access to Song during this period and in Border City 2 contemplates the saga in detail. Whilst following Song’s fate through intimate observational footage, Hong also puts South Korean society under the microscope. The result is an unsettling portrait of a country caught in between past political wounds and the momentum for change and reconciliation.
Director Hong brings to light some uncomfortable truths about the freedom of speech and in the process questions how far democracy has evolved in South Korea.