''Crossing'' (also known as ''Keurosing'') is a 2008 South Korean film directed by Kim Tae-kyun. It was selected as South Korea's submission to the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. The film follows the journey of a North Korean man as he illegally leaves the country to find medicine for his sick wife, portraying the many hardships of the average North Korean citizen. The film had 907,255 admissions in South Korea. The

politics of North Korea The politics of North Korea (officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea or DPRK) takes place within the framework of the official state philosophy, Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism. ''Juche'', which is a part of Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism, i ...

in this film are left behind and are mainly in the background. Instead it concentrates more on the life of the average North Korean, such as the hardship in an impoverished state and the fear of getting caught and being persecuted in North Korea. Subtle themes include religion, which runs through the film, as Yong Soo hopes that his son comes back safely, as well as football which is a way in connecting the North Koreans to the outside world.

Plot

A North Korean father and husband decides to illegally cross into China to buy medicine for his pregnant wife, who is suffering from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

. Once he crosses into China, however, he realizes that it's not as easy as thought. He starts working as an illegal immigrant under the constant threat of capture by Chinese authorities and deportation back to North Korea. He eventually finds his way to South Korea by entering the German Embassy in China. Meanwhile, his wife dies, leaving their son homeless and wandering trying to find a way back to his father. Scenes switch between those of the father who is outside North Korea trying to find medicine, and those of the son, who ends up homeless and tries to defect also.

Cast

Cha In-pyo Cha In-pyo (; born October 14, 1967) is a South Korean actor and director. Early life Cha graduated from Rutgers University in the U.S. with a degree in economics. His father ran a shipping company and had intended for Cha to take over the f ...

as Kim Yong-soo, the main protagonist and the father. *Sin Myeong-cheol as Kim Joon, the son of Kim Yong-soo. *Seo Young-hwa as Yong-soo's wife *

Jung In-gi Jung In-gi (born September 12, 1966) is a South Korean actor. Jung made his acting debut in 1990, and has remained active in mainstream and independent film as well as television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunic ...

as Sang-cheol, friend of Yong-soo's who eventually gets sent to a labor camp, for smuggled goods. *

Joo Da-young Joo Da-young (born June 16, 1995) is a South Korean actress. She graduated from Chung-Ang University, Department of Theater and Film in 2014. She started her acting career as a child actress in 1999 with KBS1 television series ''TV Novel: Siste ...

as Mi-seon, daughter of Sang-cheol, friend of Joon. *

Tae In-ho Tae In-ho (born Park Sang-yeon; May 2, 1980) is a South Korean actor. He starred in television series such as '' Misaeng: Incomplete Life'' (2014) and '' Descendants of the Sun'' (2016). Filmography Films Television series Web series ...

Awards and nominations

;

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Buil Film Awards The Buil Film Awards () is a South Korean film awards ceremony hosted by the ''Busan Ilbo'' newspaper. It began in 1958 as one of the earliest film awards in the country. During the 1950s and 1960s, it was the biggest film awards event in the B ...

* Nomination - Best New Actor - Sin Myeong-cheol ;

Blue Dragon Film Awards The Blue Dragon Film Awards () is an annual awards ceremony that is presented by ''Sports Chosun'' (a sister brand of the ''Chosun Ilbo'') for excellence in film in South Korea. The Blue Dragon Film Awards considers only blockbusters and popula ...

* Nomination - Best Film * Nomination - Best Director - Kim Tae-kyun ;2008

Korean Film Awards The Korean Film Awards was a South Korean film awards ceremony hosted by the broadcasting network MBC from 2002 to 2010. History Originally named the MBC Film Awards, the ceremony was first established in 2002. It was renamed the Korean Film Aw ...

* Nomination - Best Art Direction - Kim Hyeon-ok * Nomination - Best New Actor - Sin Myeong-cheol

Controversy

Shortly after the film was released it became embroiled in controversy as it has been accused of

plagiarism Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...

by Lee Kwang Hoon. He argued that the film was written on a screenplay titled "The Conditions of Human" based on the story of North Korean defector Yoo Sang-joon which he wrote. Lee's lawyer also said that director Lee and Yoo had signed a contract to make a film about Yoo's life and has been preparing for the past three years. The lawyer claimed that a court injunction was sought because director Kim has not discussed the matter with director Lee, although Kim had known about the existence of a screenplay about Yoo. The request for an injunction applies to all theater presentations, as well as in the forms of DVD, video, and internet videos. Vantage Holdings, the distributor of ''Crossing'' has countered the accusation by saying that the director nor the film company has not violated Lee's copyright and added that they are looking into taking legal measures themselves. The film has also been selected as South Korea's submission to the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. But the Korean Film Council will select another submission if ''Crossing'' is found guilty when the issue comes to court. However, in the end the film was submitted to the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not nominated for the awards.

References

External links

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''Crossing''
at

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