A Kim Jong-Il Production: The Extraordinary True Story of a Kidnapped Filmmaker, His Star Actress, and a Young Dictator's Rise to Power

Meiji Japan found that one way to shorten the learning curve in technology was by importing "live machines" – foreigners hired for their knowledge and expertise. But in the late 1970s, Pyongyang found a further refinement when it skipped the hiring phase and apparently abducted those it wanted to revive the North's flagging film industry. Kim Jong Il first ordered the kidnapping of South Korea's leading actress Choi Eun Hee from Hong Kong in January 1978 and subsequently her estranged husband, the equally famous director Shin Sang Ok, six months later. A Kim Jong-il Production tells their story set against the backdrop of the North Korean film industry.