Born to Korean immigrant parents freed from indentured servitude in early twentieth century Mexico, Jerónimo Lim Kim joins the Cuban Revolution with his law school classmate Fidel Castro and becomes an accomplished government official in the Castro regime, until he rediscovers his ethnic roots and dedicates his later life to reconstructing his Korean Cuban identity. After Jerónimo's death, younger Korean Cubans recognize his legacy, but it is not until they are presented with the opportunity to visit South Korea that questions about their mixed identity resurface.
Direction
Juhn weaves archival gold with wrenching present-day returns.
Production
Access to Cuban state archives and Korean family letters.
Director
Joseph Juhn
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Director Joseph Juhn stumbled onto Jerónimo's story while volunteering in Cuba and spent seven years tracking down scattered family archives across three continents.
The film captures a near-extinct community: fewer than 1,000 Korean Cubans remain, making Jerónimo's archival project effectively a salvage ethnography.
US
