In February 1978, South Korean actress Choi Eun-hee and her film director husband Shin Sang-ok were kidnapped in Hong Kong and taken to Pyongyang. They were abducted on the orders of Kim Jong-il, the son of North Korean President Kim Il-sung, who wanted to use them to improve the North Korean film industry. Shin attempted to escape and spent five years in a re-education camp, before being reunited with his wife. While living in North Korea, Shin made the monster movie "Pulgasari". In April 1984, South Korean government officials stated that the kidnappees were working in North Korea producing propaganda films that glorified Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. The couple escaped to the United States in 1986 while on a filming assignment in Vienna.