In 1978, South Korean actress Choi Eun-hee was abducted in Hong Kong and transported to North Korea under the orders of Kim Jong-il, then son of North Korea's dictator. Choi, a prominent figure in South Korean cinema, was held in a luxury villa in Pyongyang.
Her ex-husband, acclaimed director Shin Sang-ok, traveled to Hong Kong to investigate her disappearance and was subsequently abducted himself. Shin was less cooperative than Choi, attempting escape twice before being sent to a concentration camp for "re-education" for five years.
In 1983, Choi and Shin were reunited in North Korea, unaware of each other's prior capture. They were assigned by Kim Jong-il to watch films daily and provide critiques, ultimately being tasked with producing propaganda films for North Korea. Shin directed several films, including the monster movie 'Pulgasari'.
During their captivity, they remarried at Kim Jong-il's insistence. After achieving success with their films within North Korea, they were granted permission to travel overseas for promotional purposes. In Vienna, with assistance from a Japanese journalist, Choi and Shin escaped North Korean agents and sought asylum at the US embassy.
They provided US authorities with secret recordings of conversations with Kim Jong-il, in which he expressed frustrations with North Korea's film industry compared to South Korea's. Choi and Shin were granted asylum in the United States.
Shin Sang-ok later worked in Hollywood under the pseudonym Simon Sheen for the '3 Ninjas' franchise. He passed away from cancer in 2006, while still married to Choi Eun-hee, who died in 2018.