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.
Tall, blonde and blue-eyed, it is impossible not to notice Isak Börg, First Secretary to the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang. As a diplomat, he is under constant surveillance and strongly discouraged from interacting with the locals. Despite this, he secretly dates Bok-joo, a local traffic officer, but when one last effort to extend his stay is rejected, Isak begs her to come back to Stockholm with him. Bok-joo turns this idea down and abruptly disappears. Oblivious to the danger he is putting the woman he loves in, Isak asks Myeong-jun, his assigned interpreter, for help. When Myeong-jun refuses, a desperate Isak becomes increasingly suspicious of everyone.
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. Loneliness and longing suffuse each gorgeously animated frame of this spare, elegant feature debut from filmmaker Bo-sol Kim, a graduate of the Korean Academy of Film Arts in Seoul. On one hand a classic tragic love story, on the other an unexpected spy thriller engine, the film weaves darkness and muscle into the philosophical poetry of life.
Directed by: Bo-sol Kim
Screenwriter: Bo-sol Kim
Production: Kim Bo-sol, Park So-hye
Country: Korea Południowa
Year: 2026
Running Time: 73 min.
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