The Short Films of Hayoun Kwon: Imaginary Lines

Hayoun Kwon’s Model Village and the animations Panmunjom and 489 Years use very different styles to focus on the Korean DMZ—the highly militarized strip of land between North and South Korea. 489 Years is based on memories of a South Korean soldier who served in the Demilitarized Zone, while Model Village recreates an inaccessible North Korean propaganda village. Panmunjom questions the fictive qualities of the DMZ, and borders in general. Walls depicts a prison, to relate Japan’s occupation of Korea. Kwon’s astounding animation Lack of Evidence is based on the testimony of a Nigerian man who sought asylum in France.