During his rule, the north korean dictator Kim Jong‑Il was fascinated by cinema as a weapon of persuasion, even authoring a manual called On the Art of The Cinema that laid out how movies could be turned into educational tools for the regime.
North Korean Propaganda Through Film
The following ten titles illustrate how the regime used the silver screen to reinforce loyalty, demonise enemies, and glorify the state.
10 Pulgasari
Kidnapped South Korean director Shin Sang‑Ok was forced to helm a blatant copy of Japan’s Godzilla, rebranded as Pulgasari. Set in feudal Korea, the plot follows ruthless nobles who pillage a farming village and imprison an elderly blacksmith. His children smuggle rice through the bars, and the blacksmith, refusing to eat it, mixes the grain with his daughter’s blood to fashion a tiny figurine of a monster.
With his dying breath, the blacksmith implores the gods to animate the figurine so it can free the villagers. The monster, Pulgasari, awakens and devours iron, growing larger and stronger with each bite. It becomes an indestructible force that topples the aristocracy, liberating the peasants.
However, the creature’s insatiable appetite for metal soon threatens to consume the nation’s resources. Realising the danger, the blacksmith’s daughter sacrifices herself, ending the monster’s reign and returning it to the spiritual realm. The film is framed as an allegory warning against the unchecked spread of capitalism.
9 The Favorite Young Man
Kim Yong Bae, a handsome, friendly, and intelligent army veteran, chooses to work as a plumber—a humble, government‑assigned job. He reunites with his old friend Son Ae, a talented tailor, and the two fall in love. When Son Ae’s family scoffs at her pairing with a plumber, she insists she cares only about the person, not his occupation.Kim Yong Bae’s unwavering dedication and charisma eventually win over the skeptical relatives. He even saves the entire town when a massive pipe burst threatens disaster. Throughout the film, he breaks the fourth wall, staring directly into the camera to extol the vital role plumbers play in supplying clean water, essentially shaming anyone who undervalues blue‑collar labor.
Although presented as a romantic comedy, the movie’s primary lesson is clear: in north korean society, private wealth is forbidden, and pride in one’s assigned work is a virtue to be celebrated.
8 My Socialist Country
This English‑narrated documentary boasts a glossy portrait of life under the regime. It claims citizens enjoy limitless food, clothing, housing, healthcare, jobs, 150 days of maternity leave, and free college education—all without taxes. The film paints the north korean system as a perfectly self‑sustaining utopia, urging foreign audiences to envy its citizens.
Viewed without context, the documentary could convince an uninformed viewer that north korea is an unparalleled paradise.
7 Eternal Comrades
Set in 1946, the drama recounts a terrorist plot to assassinate Kim Il‑Sung. Soviet officer Yakov Nevichenko spots the grenade and heroically throws his body over it, saving the future leader’s life. Nevichenko’s makeshift body armor—a massive book strapped to his chest—absorbs the blast, though he loses an arm and sustains severe injuries.
The film dramatizes this sacrifice, presenting Nevichenko as a North Korean national hero with a statue erected in his honor. It underscores the message that the Great Leader is worthy of ultimate sacrifice, even from foreign allies, and it popularized the name “Yakov” for newborns across the country.
6 Soul’s Protest
Premiering three years after the Hollywood blockbuster Titanic, Soul’s Protest retells the tragic sinking of the Ukishima Maru in 1945. Korean passengers, returning from forced labor camps in Japan, perished when the ship struck a hidden landmine, killing 524 souls. The Japanese government denied responsibility, claiming the accident was unavoidable.
North Korean narratives blame Japan for a deliberate massacre, despite court findings to the contrary. The film mirrors Titanic’s structure, with the cast required to watch the American movie over a hundred times for preparation. Homages abound, yet romance is replaced by polite, restrained smiles, turning the tale into a vehicle for anti‑Japanese sentiment.
5 The Flower Girl
Adapted from an opera and novel, The Flower Girl follows a young woman forced to trek mountains daily to sell flowers during Japan’s 1930s occupation of Korea. Her mother is ailing, her younger sister is blind, her father is dead, and her brother fights as a revolutionary.
The landlord, indifferent to their suffering, threatens eviction for unpaid rent. Unable to afford medicine, the mother eventually dies. The blind sister’s incessant crying prompts the landlord to claim she’s possessed by the mother’s spirit and must be exorcised through death.When the brother returns victorious from battle, Korea regains independence. The film’s purpose is to starkly contrast pre‑communist hardship with the regime’s promises of free healthcare and housing, making it the most renowned and emotionally resonant north korean propaganda piece.
4 O Youth!
The story centers on a family with five athletic daughters and one scholarly son. The son, a historian nearing 30 and still single, worries his mother about finding a wife. He meets a woman in the library, assuming she’s a bookish type, only to discover she’s a professional Taekwondo fighter.
Set against the backdrop of Pyongyang’s sports complex built by Kim Jong‑Il, the characters frequently praise the Great Leader’s support for young athletes. When a gang harasses the couple, the girlfriend fends them off with Taekwondo, prompting the son to request her review of his PhD thesis on the History of Taekwondo. She advises him to credit the Leader, reinforcing the narrative that the regime underpins all sporting success.
3 Welcome Of North Korea
Created in the 1980s with English voice‑over, this promotional video depicts a thriving nation: towering buildings, fashionable attire, abundant food, and bustling tourist attractions such as acrobatic shows, gift shops, historic sites, and beaches. It aims to convince foreign audiences that life in the country is prosperous and that negative rumors are baseless.
Modern tours echo the original format, now adding water parks and technology centers. Visitors are never left unattended and must show reverence to the Great Leader. Filmmaker Louis Cole chronicled his experience on the YouTube channel FunForLouis, offering a glimpse into today’s tightly controlled tourism.
2 Order No. 27
In this hyper‑stylized war picture, north korean soldiers embark on a secret mission, embracing the danger with enthusiasm to serve the Great Leader. The combat sequences resemble a Mortal Kombat‑style showdown, showcasing soldiers with near‑superhuman skill.
The film walks a line between parody and tragedy, likely intended to excite citizens, all of whom receive mandatory army training, about the prospect of real combat. By the climax, the mission succeeds, but not without loss—several comrades fall. Unlike typical Western war movies, every soldier, even commanders, openly weeps for their fallen peers. The final line declares that a soldier who dies for the Leader and the Communist Party attains eternal remembrance.
1 Under The Sun
Russian director Vitaly Mansky’s 2015 documentary set out to capture everyday life in the regime, but the government only permitted filming of staged scenes. Mansky noticed the choreography and, refusing to be a propaganda tool, left the camera rolling during outtakes. The resulting footage reveals actors posing as factory workers, shivering in unheated workshops, and reciting scripted praises for production success.The stark contrast between the polished official narrative and the behind‑the‑scenes reality led the north korean authorities to ban the film domestically. Nonetheless, Under The Sun earned multiple international awards and exposed the extent of the regime’s cinematic manipulation.