[Limelight] "There Was Logiwan in the Calm North Korean Language Teacher's Emotions"

Netflix Movie 'Rogiwan' Song Joong-ki
Portrays the Bruised Life of a Defector, Reflecting His Own Image
"A Person Who Will Never Lose Himself Even in the Harshest Situations"

"At first, he was nothing more than the initial L. He was often labeled as stateless or a refugee, sometimes described as an undocumented person without any identification or an illegal immigrant who entered without legal procedures. He was also a ghost-like existence who could not realistically communicate with anyone, a different kind of person from another land where nothing is guaranteed in life and the world, in other words, a stranger."

This is the opening line of author Jo Hae-jin's novel Met Logiwan. It describes the situation of Logiwan, a defector from North Korea who came to Belgium with his last hope. Many European countries, including Belgium, rarely grant refugee status to those expelled from or who have abandoned their countries because they must provide various support funds and help them settle. Logiwan takes a gamble with his entire life. He seeks the meaning of his own life.

His mother, who escaped North Korea with him, died instantly in a traffic accident in China. Logiwan could not even go near the hospital where her body was kept. It was a period of massive searches by Chinese authorities for North Korean defectors. Relatives urged him to leave for Europe. They persuaded him that he could get travel expenses by handing over his mother’s body to someone. Jo Hae-jin narrates.

"Logiwan must have known too. What kind of life he would live, how many moments he would have to endure with bone-melting regret and pain. Regret would repeat periodically, and the pain would intensify. Even if he believed he had come a long way, at some point when he looks back, time would mercilessly question the choices of that moment, and the mirror Logiwan would look into would be stained forever with self-deprecating words."

The unimaginable pain was embodied on actor Song Joong-ki’s face. The Netflix film Logiwan shows a life bruised by various pains. Even the attempt to understand the role was a challenge. It constantly required a process of understanding how painful and difficult the past time must have been. No standard can measure the weight of loss felt by others. Song Joong-ki recognized his limits but summoned courage.

"It seems people tend to care more about the thorn under their own fingernails than someone else’s pain. As I got closer to Logiwan, I started to look around more. Even making that a habit, it was hard to fully grasp. So I went to a teacher of the North Korean dialect and heard many stories. Most were unimaginable. Sadness overwhelmed me every time, but the teacher remained calm throughout. I tried to make that sentiment my own. I felt Logiwan must be there."

He shows how pain enters life through a process and painfully occupies waking hours. He also portrays a face enduring pain without anyone’s comfort or warmth. The latter is unacknowledged sorrow. Emotional isolation deepens, and the pain inevitably prolongs. Song Joong-ki depicted a series of flows rather than emotional expressions. Instead of forcing it, he projected himself onto the given structure.

"Im Seung-yong, CEO of the production company Yong Film, met me and said Logiwan seemed to have become passionate. He thought my personality was reflected in it. I don’t know if that’s correct. But the Logiwan I imagined was someone who would never let go of himself no matter how harsh the situation. That’s actually me. No matter what difficulties come, I constantly strive to find a clue."

Exceptional willpower is indispensable in this film that ultimately approaches happiness. No matter how one faces loss, sorrow may not disappear. Then, each person must find a coping method that suits them and steady their mind. Logiwan, who was given a possibility by Song Joong-ki, shares experiences in solidarity with Marie (Choi Sung-eun), who has experienced no less loss. It is not just self-comfort. It gives strength and clues to live.

The Japanese word for "hard" or "painful," "tsurai (つらい)," is said to originate from "tsuranashi (つらなし)," meaning "without a companion." Originally, it expressed the painful feeling of having no one to be with. The weight of suffering that is hard to bear alone can become much lighter when shared in solidarity with people who can share hardships and adversity. The history of willpower drawn by Song Joong-ki points exactly to that. Sorrow will change someday, and its weight is bearable.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.