Kim Sun-Hee, a one-in-ten-thousand lucky one, was handpicked as an exchange student from the Democratic People’s Republic of DPRK to Switzerland, enrolling in the Nursing program at the Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH).

She is everything you’d imagine a standard girl from that distant land to be: quiet, unassuming, dressed in simple, neat, and overly conservative modern clothes. Her demeanor carries a trace of old-fashioned conservatism that feels out of place. Overwhelmed by the bustle of the modern city and utterly unfamiliar with popular culture, she seems like a visitor who accidentally stumbled into this society from a world operating at a different pace of time. She diligently yet awkwardly navigates her new reality, her gentle exterior projecting a simple soul that appears untouched by the outside world, hailing from a less developed environment.

...At least, that’s what she desperately needs everyone to believe.

1

In Bümpliz, Bern, Kim Sun-Hee, a nursing student from the DPRK, prepares her sublet room for a new roommate. She tidies, hides lace underwear, and perfume, and rehearses a careful introduction. Anxious about being seen through, she maintains the mask of a conservative, diligent girl. As evening falls, a knock comes; she opens the door with a practiced smile and introduces herself.

2

At the BFH library, Kim Sun-Hee maintains her shy, diligent persona while studying with classmates Lena and Mark, carefully saying nothing that would make her stand out. After they leave, she retreats to a stairwell and, believing she's alone, unleashes her true thoughts—mocking Swiss food, imitating peers, and joking about her own cover. Her private performance is interrupted by the click of a door.

3

In her dorm room, Kim Sun-Hee tries Bumble for the first time. After receiving unsolicited explicit messages, she nearly deletes the app. Then she spots a profile: someone who finds the Aare River beautiful—reminding her of the Taedong River in Pyongyang. Stirred by homesickness, she sends a wistful message about the river and being new to Bern. Immediately, she regrets it.

4

In her Bern room, Kim Sun-Hee tries on pale rose silk lingerie she ordered online, curious to see herself differently. She photographs her reflection in the small wardrobe mirror, but her thumb slips and sends a photo to a contact. Horrified, she arranges to meet them by the Aare River, dressed conservatively. She braces for consequences, imagining deportation and disgrace.

5

After enduring discriminatory questions, Kim Sun-Hee retreats to a hidden garden bench, fighting tears. Then she notices someone unwell on the main path. Her nursing training takes over. Despite her own hidden pain, she comforts them with soft words and a genuine smile.

6

In the Botanical Garden at sunset, Kim Sun-Hee meets a stranger who lured her with poetic anonymous messages. The man, older and more aggressive than his words suggested, reveals he has been watching her for weeks. He mocks her background, says girls from her country are sheltered and pure, then grabs her wrist and handcuffs her. He tells her she came because she wanted this. Sun-Hee is trapped.

7

Kim Sun-Hee buys a swimsuit that is comically too small: exposing far more than intended. Future Sun-Hee can deal with the trauma, she told herself. Present Sun-Hee is going swimming. At the public pool, she accidentally drifts into the deep end and panics. Too embarrassed to climb out, she pretends to be a confident swimmer while desperately crawling along the edge.

8

Kim Sun-Hee attends a party in Länggasse, where classmates crowd around and ask about her life. Though embarrassed, she realizes they are curious, not cruel. To hide her awkwardness, she keeps drinking and becomes drunk. When the group notices, she lies that she has already called a taxi and insists on leaving alone.

9

Kim Sun-Hee stands overwhelmed in a Swiss supermarket aisle, surrounded by unfamiliar period products: tampons, menstrual cups, painkillers. Raised in Pyongyang where only simple pads exist, she feels guilt and curiosity. But I will not know unless I try.

10

Kim Sun-Hee dresses carefully for her birthday. At the botanical garden bench, she nervously invites a classmate she secretly admires to dinner. She mentions a reservation at a Thai restaurant near the Münster—a table for two at eight o'clock. Her heart races, legs ready to flee, but she forces herself to wait.