A South Korean pastor moonlights as a real-life Jason Bourne, smuggling families out of North Korea through a 3,000-mile escape route where one wrong move means death.
Thanks to Kyle Smith of the WSJ for first pointing this out as well as Jenny Kleinberg (my colleague Rob Kelly’s highschool chum!) for sharing that The New York Times ranked it as one of the three documentaries to watch right.
Trailer for “Beyond Utopia”
You Can’t Make This Sh!t Up
- Pastor Seungeun Kim guides families across borders, jungles, and rivers while dodging Chinese police and North Korean agents.
- The Roh family’s escape in 2019 was filmed using hidden cameras. Their journey took them through China and into Southeast Asia, over 3,000 miles. It included moments where they had to quietly crawl past checkpoints to avoid arrest and execution.
- One woman had to choose whether to leave her parents and child behind, knowing North Korea would punish them for her defection. She still went.
- Defectors grew up thinking North Korea was a paradise. One described watching public executions and still believing their country was the best in the world because all outside information was blocked.
Watch “Beyond Utopia”
You can watch “Beyond Utopia” on Hulu. Also listed on HBO Max and Disney+ in some regions.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 96/100
- IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 99/100 (Users); 100/100 (Critics)
Director’s Note: Directed by Madeleine Gavin, who also made “City of Joy.” Her approach here is raw, urgent, and completely unflinching.
Release Date: Premiered at Sundance in January 2023.
My Review of “Beyond Utopia”
The Setup
This is a 1-hour and 55-minute doc, but it plays like a thriller. Pastor Seungeun Kim is a former military officer turned underground railroad leader, and he’s helping North Koreans cross thousands of miles through enemy territory. We follow two families as they make their escape in real time.
Hidden cameras take us inside homes, train stations, and even border crossings. There’s no voiceover or dramatic reenactment, just raw footage and the real stakes of every decision. You see the human toll: parents leaving children behind, people breaking down as they make it over the line, terrified they’ve been caught.
More Highlights from the Doc
- Pastor Seungeun Kim helps people escape from North Korea as his full-time job. His organization has rescued over 1,000 defectors.
- The use of hidden-camera footage is chilling. You see real street life in North Korea: kids walking in formation, people bowing before portraits of Kim Jong Un, and mass rallies praising the regime. Informants watch every move.
- Defectors describe being taught that Americans eat snow and live under bridges. They only learn the truth after escaping—and some feel guilt over having once believed the lies.
- Pastor Kim operates out of South Korea but has teams across Asia. They coordinate with smugglers, pay bribes, and constantly shift routes to stay ahead of surveillance.
- The documentary pulls from interviews with defectors like Hyeonseo Lee, who later testified before the UN and wrote a bestselling memoir. She recalls how it took her more than a decade to bring her family out.
- One elderly defector recalls seeing electricity for the first time after leaving North Korea. She thought she was looking at magic.
Cameos – Lesser-Known Details from the Doc
- Journalist Barbara Demick, author of “Nothing to Envy,” appears briefly—her reporting has tracked daily life inside North Korea for years.
- Some of the escapees now work to help others defect. One man who crossed the Tumen River as a teen now raises funds to help orphans escape.
- Pastor Kim has received threats from Chinese authorities and North Korean operatives but continues his missions.
Wrap Up
“Beyond Utopia” is one of the most gripping escape stories I’ve ever seen. If you’ve ever wondered what life in North Korea is really like—and what it takes to leave—it’s all here, unfiltered.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc