FILM
Kim Minha's Hana Korea Offers Comfort Beyond Preconceptions as Film Passes 10,000 Admissions
Kim Minha discussed Hana Korea on SBS PowerFM Cinetown, saying the film challenged her preconceptions, while the North Korean defector drama passed 10000 admissions five days after release.
The film "Hana Korea" has added a meaningful early milestone amid sincere promotion from actor Kim Minha and growing audience response. In radio appearances and interviews, Kim said the film made her reflect on her own preconceptions about North Korean defectors, while the movie surpassed 10,000 cumulative admissions on its fifth day of release. The result shows a small-scale film inspired by real stories widening its contact with audiences through the actor's attitude and word of mouth.
"Hana Korea" is quietly meeting audiences in the early days of its release. According to the Korean Film Council's integrated ticketing network, the film, which opened on July 8, surpassed 10,000 cumulative admissions on July 12. Some reports said it ranked No. 1 on both the Korean film box office and the independent and art film box office on its opening day. Rather than evaluating it in the same way as a large commercial release, the figure can be read as an indicator of early interest within the independent and art film market.
"Hana Korea" is a film inspired by real events that follows the journey of Hyesun, a North Korean defector woman trying to move forward in an unfamiliar life. According to KBS, Danish director Frederik Solberg met North Korean defectors in person and listened to their stories, with the film built from that experience. Weekly Hyundai also introduced the film as being completed based on interviews with more than 30 defectors. Kim Minha plays Hyesun, a woman who settles in South Korea while leaving her mother behind in North Korea.
Kim's process of accepting the project has also been shared through several interviews. Appearing on SBS PowerFM's "Park Ha Sun's Cinetown" on July 10 with Kim Joo Ryoung, Kim Minha said that when she read the script, it felt as if she were encountering someone's letter or diary. She said she felt the story could be expressed through eyes and body rather than words, and described it as a work that broke her own preconceptions about North Korean defectors. She also said that although she had not directly experienced the life of a defector, she received comfort from the universal human qualities within the story.
Kim Joo Ryoung's perspective also helps explain the film's tone. On the same radio program, Kim Joo Ryoung said she liked that the story was not overly dramatic and that she welcomed its focus on people rather than political ideology or prejudice. That aligns with reports describing "Hana Korea" as a film that follows the emotions and relationships of its characters calmly, rather than consuming the subject of defection as an event-driven issue.
Kim Minha also went through physical changes for the role. In an interview with Weekly Hyundai, she said she lost around 16 to 17 kilograms while preparing for "Hana Korea." However, that change should be understood less as an emphasis on appearance itself and more as context for how the actor approached the character. Kim also said on JTBC's "Newsroom" that actors often encounter fixed ideas about appearance, and that she thinks about how to break those frames within a profession that must deliver diverse stories.
The film's early response also appears to have been influenced by steady promotion from the cast. Along with Kim Minha, actors including Kim Joo Ryoung and Ahn Seo Hyun have been introducing the work, while reports also mentioned that Sharon Choi and Choi Sung Jae participated as co-writers. Still, the box office path after passing 10,000 admissions may change depending on theater scale, audience word of mouth, future stage greetings and promotion schedules.
The key point currently confirmed is that a relatively small film has created an early result through sincere explanation from its actors and audience interest. For Kim Minha, "Hana Korea" can be understood not simply as a work of transformation, but as a project that required a careful attitude toward one person's life. For audiences, the film is approaching as a work that asks them to think again about unfamiliar lives, settlement and hope through the journey of Hyesun.