After escaping the oppressive regime in North Korea, Rokivan arrives in Belgium to seek asylum, hoping to find freedom and a new beginning. Instead, he found himself mired in the bureaucratic limbo of the asylum process.
Ki-man’s situation in Korean movies: no money, no home, no legal right to work My name is Luo Jiwan (streaming on Netflix) is getting more and more desperate. During harsh winters, he was forced to sleep in public bathrooms and scour trash cans for food. Kiwan finally found some respite when he found illegal work in a meat factory. Even so, security and stability remain elusive.
While some subplots are dramatic, the film powerfully depicts the systemic obstacles refugees often face—obstacles that can be as oppressive as the regimes they flee. Kivan is in a dilemma: He is not free to live or work in Belgium, but he cannot leave while the case is pending. Throughout the ordeal, Kiwan realized that he desired more than just the right to live somewhere; he needed the freedom to come and go on his own terms.
