Kim Il Sung's Children

Historical records of the diaspora of North Korean war orphans to Eastern Europe in the 1950s



It's a mostly forgotten slice of Cold War history, but a new documentary sheds light on the lives of the orphans whose departure still weighs on the Europeans who knew them - New York Times



I hope your film will provide audiences all over the world with an opportunity to reflect upon both the past and the future of the Korean peninsula - Harry Harris, U.S. Ambassador to South Korea



Your film was very powerful, beautiful, and sincere - Renee Fisher, Film Director



A movie you cannot watch without shedding tears as a person living in the same era in different location. - Shimokawa Masahiru, former Mainichi journalist



Kim Il Sung's Children reveals the secrets of North Korean orphans in Eastern Europe in the 1950s.

An illumination on the forgotten lives of 10,000 North Korean orphans in Eastern Europe in the 1950s, referred to as Kim Il Sung's children.

This documentary traces North Korea's war orphans of the 1950s in five Eastern European countries: The Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. It features miraculous events and meetings with innocent people throughout the journey.



2020 Rome International Movie Awards (Italy) The Best Documentary Winner

2020 International New York Film Festival Official Selection

2020 Cyrus International Film Festival of Toronto (Canada) Semi Finalist

2020 Nice International Film Festival (France) Official Selection

2020 'Global Migration Film Festival' by UN International Organization of Migration Official Selection



Author Kim Deog-Young is a documentary film director. Kim made his debut as a film director in 1995 with Waning 1989. Kim's another film Farewell to the Factory (1999) made an official selection at Busan International Film Festival and was aired on Japan's NHK in 1999. Kim Il Sung's Children, released in 2020, was internationally acclaimed, making Kim South Korea's leading documentary film director.