A poster for “The Square” / Courtesy of Studio dhL
In films set in or related to North Korea, certain elements often recur: secret agents and military personnel of the country, deprived civilians, breathtaking chases and graphic brutality. “The Square,” an animated feature by director Kim Bo-sol, has none of that.
Instead, the film focuses on two civilians in North Korea: Isak Börg, a Swedish diplomat, and Bok-ju, a North Korean traffic safety officer and Börg’s lover. This unprecedented plot alone is enough to engage viewers immediately.
The film follows how the two navigate their emotions and circumstances as they face an impending, permanent separation, inviting viewers to reflect on isolation, control and the quiet cost of love under surveillance.
The plot was inspired by a news story Kim came across in 2016.
“It was an interview with a real Swedish diplomat who had returned from North Korea after three years of service. When the reporter asked, ‘What was life like in North Korea?’ the diplomat replied, ‘I was so lonely.’ He explained that due to surveillance and control in North Korea, he could not even share a single beer with the North Korean staff he worked with,” Kim wrote in a press release.
A scene from “The Square” / Courtesy of Studio dhL
“In the end, the only way he could relieve his stress was by riding a bicycle alone on an empty highway where there was no one around. That vivid picture of a blond diplomat biking solo on an empty road totally clicked with my long-time fascination with North Korea. It was the spark that made me think, ‘I have to make a movie about this.’ And that’s how it all started.”
The director successfully translated that image into an animation.
Börg, with his blond hair and bicycle, rides everywhere — to work, to Kim Il-sung Square to lay flowers as part of his daily ritual and to meet his secret girlfriend. Riding together becomes one of the couple’s rare moments of intimacy. The two communicate in Korean, which Börg speaks fluently, having a Korean grandmother.
The film successfully portrays a realistic vision of Pyongyang and its repressive atmosphere. Streets appear largely empty and the city’s landscape is rendered in muted shades of gray.
In one scene, the Swedish diplomat shops at a local market, only for a child and a parent who interact with him to be taken away. For the same reason, Bok-ju is later removed from the city. In North Korea, locals and foreigners are prohibited from interacting with one another.
A scene from “The Square” / Courtesy of Studio dhL
Surveillance takes human form in Myeong-joon, Börg’s assigned assistant who is, in fact, an undercover agent tasked with monitoring the diplomat and reporting his daily activities.
Myeong-joon rejects Börg’s attempts at human connection. In one scene, Börg invites him to his apartment to share a beer, but Myeong-joon reacts angrily and leaves. Although he is aware of Börg’s relationship with Bok-ju — and the couple’s anguish over their separation — he initially does little to help. He ignores Börg’s request for help in finding Bok-ju after she is sent to the countryside, accused of interacting with a foreigner.
But Myeong-joon is no one-dimensional villain. The director said he spent a lot of time developing the character.
“While working on the script, I interviewed a North Korean defector who told me he had never felt lonely because he was too anxious about everything,” Kim said. “The same is true for Myeong-joon. What drives him is anxiety.”
Later, when Myeong-joon helps Börg find Bok-ju, he reflects on his own emotions.
“I think I was lonely,” he says, explaining his change of heart.
A scene from “The Square” / Courtesy of Studio dhL
As Kim’s third movie, “The Square” received the Contrechamp Jury Award at last year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival, as well as the Best Director Award at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival and Best Film at the Seoul Independent Film Festival in 2025.
The film will be released in theaters on Jan. 15.