Bora Lee-Kil from South Korea
- Angie Pine
- Jul 2
- 5 min read
An interview with Bora Lee-Kil, South Korean writer, filmmaker, and activist.
‘I know you have been studying at the Netherlands Film Academy. Why did you choose it?’
‘It was totally accidental. At the time, I was travelling in Europe for my projects and stayed in Amsterdam for a couple of days. By chance, I discovered the film academy building right next to my apartment. And one day I went there to look around. During that quick visit I met the Head of the Master Program and she gave me a ton of useful information. But more than anything she gave me motivation to study there. It felt the right step to take: to learn about the film industry outside of Korea. Besides, Korean culture felt suffocating to me for quite a long time.
‘In Korea, we like comparing each other, assessing each other’s success. Kids at school must compete to be at the top of a class. You see, that motivation is different from wanting to learn about the world or to develop practical skills. We are encouraged to better our classmates. And to do that we study long long hours. I mean it. Children take bento-boxes to eat their dinner at school. They are given just twenty minutes to chew their food and they come back to studies immediately afterwards. It gets worse in high school: study hours become even longer. Many students go to cram schools or have extra lessons with private tutors. I remember I had only four to five hours to sleep each day and it drove me crazy. I decided I didn’t want to be part of that ridiculous system, so I dropped out.’
‘How did your parents react to that?’
‘They trusted me to make my own life choices. You see, my parents' way of experiencing life is very different—they both are Deaf. On top of that they learned Sign language later than children normally learn a spoken language. And overall, their education was very limited. I think that’s why their way of living always stayed on a practical level. To find out if you like something, to form your opinion about it you must try it, right? That’s their motto.
‘My parents supported me when I wanted to go traveling outside of Korea by myself too. I made an eight-month travel plan and presented it to my parents, relatives, and other adults I could find. It became a miniature crowd-funding for my brave enterprise. And it worked out. Of course, now that I'm a mother myself, I realise that solo back-packing isn’t a perfectly safe adventure for a fifteen-year-old girl. But back then I couldn’t wait to get out and explore. I went to India, Nepal, Cambodia, Vietnam, all of Southeastern Asia, including Tibet. I saw a bigger world. It was so different from studying day in and day out—an alternative way of learning.’
‘Did travelling inspire you for filmmaking?’
‘Yes, I wanted to share my story with other people and couldn’t think about a better way to communicate it than through a movie. I made a short film about my trip and applied to the Korean National University of Arts. They accepted my application.’
‘How do you find topics for your projects?’
‘I always liked documentaries. I remember watching them on TV. It was fun. My parents were busy working to make the ends meet. I took care of my younger brother and did the household work. Documentaries were the first chance to explore the outside world that I found for myself.
‘I choose a nonfiction side of writing and filming because at times it seems more fictional than any fiction. I never had any shortage of subjects. Sometimes I pick them, sometimes they find me. Right now I’m planning to shoot my friend's wedding. They are two lesbians who are Deaf and soon will have a child (with help from a Deaf sperm donor). As soon as I heard the story, I wanted to make it into a movie. There isn’t a precise script just yet. I’m going to explore new ways of narrating. This time I want to be a narrator myself. We shall see how it goes. It’s new to me.’
‘Coming back to your life in the Netherlands. How was it?’
‘Happy. Yes, I can tell you it was a happy time for me. I lived outside of Korea and Korean culture for a change. The constant pressure to be at the top, to perform and compete was off. I experienced living my life to the fullest. There was room for self-discovery and nobody questioned my identity. In Korea, I had a difficult time. A stranger could come up to me on the street and ask why I had short hair. It’s so extremely stereotypical, you can hardly imagine. It’s pure madness. That’s why I’m also an activist for female emancipation.
‘In the Netherlands they don’t look at the length of your hair. But the biggest cultural shock for me came on a stormy day. The weather forecast sent out an orange level calamitous weather warning. They say it wasn’t safe to cycle that day. And I, as a well informed citizen, took a tram to go to school. Only I didn’t get far because my tram ran into trouble. I had to make the rest of the way on foot. As a result, I was late for class and very surprised to see all my classmates in the room when I finally arrived. “How did you get here?” I asked. “We cycled,” was their reply. Boom. Cultural shock.
‘Afterwards, I asked my teacher: “How come people take their bikes against the weather forecast advice?” He just shrugged his shoulders and said: “Because we need to get from point A to point B.” It’s a very practical approach but nonetheless shocking.’ [Bora laughed.]
‘Would you like to stay in the Netherlands longer?’
‘Yes. After graduating from the master’s programme, I wished I could explore what opportunities I could find in the Netherlands. But my partner wanted us to come back to his homeland—Japan. Now the three of us—I, my husband, and our son—live in Fukuoka. I still want to explore the world but must consider many more important factors. For example, how child-friendly a place is.
‘You mentioned many stressful events and periods in your life. What is your dealing-with-stress technique you can share with our readers?’
‘I’m a hopeful person by nature. I see positive sides, take risks, grab opportunities. I can work through the more difficult times thanks to my friends. When things go tough, call all your friends, neighbours, relatives. Spend time together. It doesn’t make a problem go away, but it gives you strength to deal with the problem.’
‘I wish you all the luck with your future projects.’
💕
Here’s a link to Bora’s personal site and her social media:
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