In South Korea, individuals are pursuing legal action against North Korea and Chairman Kim Jong-un. These include bereaved families affected by the Uljin and Samcheok North Korean armed intelligence infiltration incidents, as well as defected North Korean prisoners of war.

I created illustrations with simple animations to support a short documentary produced by the BBC News Korea team. The animations depict parts of the story that touch upon various case studies, historical references, re-imagined and creative representation of people's stories.

Complete short documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNXr4N0W9XM
Feature story: https://www.bbc.com/korean/extra/j9ssz4qalh/north_korea_kim_jong_un

Story article page: https://lnkd.in/gQpdtB-M​​​​​​​

The first animated sequence focusing on the Goh Family's story was the most elaborate section of the animation. The family was brutally murdered in their home, by North Korean spies in the middle of the night. The animation is a visual recreation of the family's story as told by one of their descendants. Given the horrific nature of their story, the animation needed to be approached using a serious yet sensitive tone.

Initial visual research, creating mood-boards to observe the geography, landscape, architecture, homes & materials, colours found in remote mountainous regions of
South Korea.

Further research observing rural South Korean families and the details of their facial features, physical proportions, clothing/attire and accessories in the 50's/60's.

A selection of reference images that inspired the colour palette for the illustrations. 
The palette uses shades of darker greens, warm reds and oranges along with muted shades of purple, lavender and beige.

After the Korean War, North Korea implemented a full-fledged revolutionary strategy against South Korea. At that time, numerous North and South Korean spies crossed the armistice line, and competition between regimes was fierce.

 
The Blue house raid in January 1968, was launched by North Korean commandos in an attempt to assassinate the President of South Korea, 'Park Chung Hee' in his residence at the Blue House in Seoul.

In this section of the documentary, we see armed Communist guerrilla marching into South Korea through snow-clad mountains finally arriving at Jahamun Tunnel, where they were confronted by the South Korean police at a check point near the Blue House.
Minister Kang In Deok (the first Minister of Unification) who was alerted of the infiltration in the middle of the night, narrates the incident.

Initial research around the actual locations where the incident took place. References looking into the arms, ammunitions and uniforms of the North Korean commandos.

South Korean prisoners of war were taken to North Korea during the Korean War. They were forced to work in coal mines for a long time. South Korea and the United Nations Command estimate that there are about 80,000 ROK prisoners of war.

The documentary highlights one such prisoner's story. He and his wife wrote letters to one another while they aged over the years and were one of the few who re-united after the first historic inter-Korean Summit held in 2000 in Pyongyang.

This animation depicts the prisoner in a coal mine and his wife at home, with a calendar behind, that signifies the passage of time. They move away from each other while ageing which deepens the metaphor of the painful time they spent away.

Taking inspiration from visual references of Prisoners of War working in Coal mines in North Korea.

Goh Seok Ju, the descendant narrating the tragic incident of the Goh family's murder, recalls a memory from his childhood. He is the son of Goh Won Sik, who lost his parents, wife and two daughters all in one instant. Goh Won Sik went into shock at the time, spent his entire life drinking and eventually passed away.

Goh Seok Ju remembers being fearful and huddled in a corner of their house with his siblings, while his father sipped alcohol, sitting on the floor and weeping.

A small glimpse into the After Effects project file with the illustrations layered to form compositions, along with some concept sketches and animated clips.