Shin sang-ok & choi eun-hee imageshack

Director and Producer Shin Sang-ok and his wife, actress Choi Eun-hee, were the ultimate power couple in the South Korean film industry during the 60’s and the 70’s.

Upon establishing Shin Film, the pair went on to produce several acclaimed films through the 1960s which garnered international recognition for South Korea at various film festivals.

The careers of the couple, dubbed as the “Brangelina of ‘70s South Korea,” however, came to an abrupt end after being kidnapped by the previous North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, for the purpose of making quality movies for the regime.

Their bizarre story is the subject of a 98-minute documentary by filmmakers Robert Cannan and Ross Adam called, “The Lovers & the Despot,” which is set to premiere in Los Angeles and New York on Sept. 23.

Choi was abducted and taken to North Korea to meet Kim Jong-il in 1978. Six months later, Shin was abducted was kidn