Shin Sang-ok, one of the pioneers of South Korean film whose dramatic life, including abduction to North Korea, competed with events he depicted on celluloid, died this week at the age of 79.
During eight years in the Stalinist North, Shin become an acquaintance of Kim Jong-il, who would later become North Korean leader, and worked in the country's film industry. Among the innovations he claims to have introduced to that country's film industry was the first on-screen kiss, in a movie made with Mr Kim.
But to this day, questions remain about the circumstances that led to one of South Korea's leading directors spending years in the communist country at the height of the cold war.
The public version is that Shin was kidnapped in 1978, six months after the abduction of his former wife, actress Choi Eun-hee.
In a later memoir the pair said their kidnappings were on the instructions of Mr Kim, a known film fanatic, who reportedly wanted to exploit the couple's cinematic know-how. North Korea has always denied the kidnapping charge and claimed the pair defected willingly. Willingly or not, the experience gave the couple an unparalleled insight into the inner sanctum of the communist leadership.
'Kim Jong-il knows about the benefits of capitalism. And he is aware of his unpopularity. Once, when I was walking next to him during a public event the crowds cheered wildly. He whispered to me: 'This is a lie',' Shin told a South Korean newspaper in 2003.