Upon arrival in Cuba for his first visit, a Korean American lawyer on holidays discovers members of the country's Korean diaspora. Joseph Junh decides to make a documentary about the key figure of their family and the revolution, Jeronimo Lim, without realizing that he's starting a journey that will forever change the way many people, starting with himself, perceive their own identity, and their responsibilities towards fellow humans.

Heart warming story about Korean diaspora in Cuba.

Tonight I watched a fascinating documentary titled JERONIMO, about Korean Cuban Jeronimo Lim, a minister during the Castro regime and an instrumental figure in the Cuban revolution. He was also an associate of Ché Guevara.

This great film traces how many ethnic Koreans in the early twentieth fled slavish indentured servitude in Mexico for the promises of "riches" in Cuba, long before the ongoing Castro regime.

The film follows the story of Cuban born ethnic Koreans and their descendants who under the Cuban legislation banning affiliation with their ethnic identity, had to fight to preserve their language and identity, eventually visiting their now divided homeland, as well as campaigning for freedom from Japanese occupation, all under the constraints of communism.

It's a rich documentary told with a lot of compassion, insight, pride and empathy for a great pioneer and the community he proudly headed. As you can imagine from the description, it's very moving in parts.

This is by an upcoming Korean American director & narrator, Joseph Hoo Juhn, with whom there was a Q&A. I'm sure we'll hear more about him in the future.