Film Screening & Discussion of 'Kimjongilia'
VIEW EVENT DETAILSNorth Korea is one of the world's most isolated nations. For 60 years, North Koreans have been governed by a totalitarian regime that controls all information entering and leaving the country. A cult of personality surrounds its two recent leaders: first, Kim Il Sung, and now his son, Kim Jong Il. For Kim Jong Il's 46th birthday, a hybrid red begonia named kimjongilia was created, symbolizing wisdom, love, justice, and peace. The film draws its name from the rarefied flower and reveals the extraordinary stories told by survivors of North Korea's vast prison camps, of devastating famine, and of every kind of repression.
Along with the survivors' stories, Kimjongilia examines the mass illusion possible under totalitarianism and the human rights abuses required to maintain that illusion. Ultimately, the defectors are inspiring, for despite the extremes they have suffered, they still hold out hope for a better future.
Discussion will be held with Dr. Kongdan (Katy) Oh and Jinhye Jo after the film screening. Light refreshments will be served.
Kongdan (Katy) Oh is a Research Staff Member at the Institute for Defense Analyses and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. She is a life time member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Korea Working Group member of the United States Institute of Peace, Member of the Board of Directors of the United States Committee of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific, and the Co-Founder & Co-Director of The Korea Club in Washington, DC. Her recent publications include Inside North Korea (Institute for Defense Analyses, 2005), Kim Jong-il’s North Korea: Divide and Rule (IDA, 2006), "Twin Peaks of Pyongyang," ORBIS, Winter 2006, "Golden Eggs," The World Today, May 2007, How Stable Is North Korea? (IDA, 2007), and Moving the U.S.-ROK Alliance into the 21st Century (INSS and IDA, September 2007).
Event Details
Asia Society Washington
The Cinnabar Room
Whittemore House, 2nd Flr.
1526 New Hampshire Ave, NW
Washington, D.C.