In July 1989, the young José Luis Garcia ended up in North Korea by something of an accident, standing in for his older brother at an international culture festival for young communists. Not that Garcia himself was especially political. In fact, he was mostly suffering from a broken heart and saw an opportunity to escape to the other end of the world. But one thing was the culture clash of intergalactic proportions that awaited him (and which his gaping camcorder captures in great detail throughout the first third of the film). Something else was Lim Su-Kyung. A young girl from South Korea, who had sensationally found her way across the border to appeal for the country's reunification, and who announced that she would walk the fatally dangerous trip back to the south. The two never met, however, even if Garcia's camera caught small glimpses of her. So far, so good. Twenty years later, Lim has still not left Garcia's thoughts, and the now adult filmmaker decides to travel to Seoul to visit her. Major detective work pays off, and he manages to get in touch with the equally adult Lim. But 'The Girl from the South' deceives ones expectations again and again, and instead of a narrative autopilot 'happy end', we are given a budding friendship in all its fragility.

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