Repatriation (film)

Repatriation
송환 Songhwan
Directed byKim Dong-won
Written byKim Dong-won
Ryu Mi-rye
Produced byKim Dong-won
StarringJo Chang-son
Kim Suk-hyung
CinematographyByun Young-joo
Kim Tae-il
Jung Chang-young
Jang Young-gil
Mun Jeong-hyeon
Music byKim Dong-bum
Lee Ji-eun
Release date
  • March 19, 2004 (2004-03-19)
Running time
148 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean

Repatriation (Korean: 송환; Hanja: 送還; RR: Songhwan) is a 2004 South Korean documentary film that documents the lives of unconverted long-term prisoners imprisoned in the South for more than 30 years. They were finally set free in the 1990s when inter-Korean relations improved, and repatriated to the North.

It was presented with the Freedom of Expression Award at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, the first time a Korean film has ever been presented with an award at the prestigious U.S. festival. It also won Best Documentary Award at the 19th Fribourg International Film Festival in 2005. A followup, The 2nd Repatriation (2차 송환) was released in 2022.