“Settling in Seoul” is an NK News series in which North Korean defectors share their experiences adapting to life in South Korea.

This week, Sersong Han — who was born and raised in North Korea and lived there until he defected in 2014 — writes about feeling overwhelmed by the number of movies available in the South, shedding mindsets developed in the DPRK and what books and films have taught him about what the Koreas share in common.

Got a question for Sersong? Email it to [email protected] with your name and city. We’ll be publishing the best ones.

In North