List of films set in or about North Korea

This is a list of films that involve North Korea. (This listing excludes films produced by the North Korean government).

Documentaries

• Decades Apart: North Korea (2000). A 24-minute documentary (ABC Australia / Journeyman Pictures) about family reunifications of North and South Koreans in North Korea.
• Discovery Times: Children of the Secret State (2000)
• Welcome to North Korea, original title: Noord-Korea (2001) is a 50-minutes Dutch documentary directed by Raymond Feddema and Peter Tetteroo. The film won the 2001 International Emmy award for Best Documentary.^[1]
• North Korea - Shadows And Whispers (2000). A 52-minute documentary by filmmaker Kim Jung-Eun for Journeyman Pictures about a North Korean family defecting to China.
• Living Hell (2001). A 41-minute follow-up documentary to North Korea - Shadows And Whispers (2000).
• Interiéur Nord, English title(s): Day for Night in Pyongyang or Inside North Korea (2002). A 53-minute French documentary (Arte / Artline Films) by film maker David Carr-Brown about the film industry of North Korea.
• The Game of Their Lives (2002)
• Frontline/World: Suspicious Minds (2003)
• Frontline: Kim's Nuclear Gamble (2003). A 55-minute American documentary (PBS).
• Secret Nation (2003)
• Nuclear Nightmare: Understanding North Korea (2003). A 45-minute Discovery Channel documentary which has been criticized for its superficiality.^[2]
• North Korea - The Juche Era (2003). A 46-minute Bulgarian documentary distributed by Journeyman Pictures.
• North Korea: Beyond The DMZ (2003). A 60-minute documentary by J.T. Takagi & Hye Jung Park.
• A State of Mind (2004)
• North Korea: A Day in the Life (2004)
• North Korea : the Border and the War (2004)
• Access to Evil (2004)
• Return To The Border (2005)
• CNN Presents: Undercover in the Secret State (2005)
• "Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story" (2006), BBC, PBS, Fuji TV, An 85-minute American documentary. (Read more about Megumi Yokota).
• Seoul Train (2006)
• 60 Minutes: The Hermit Kingdom (2006)
• Crossing the Line (2006)
• ABC news A rare look inside North Korea (2006)
• Friends of Kim (2006). A 71-minute documentary about a group of members of the Korean Friendship Association, who travel to North Korea to demonstrate their support for the North Korean regime.
• Nordkorea: Einblicke in ein verschlossenes Land which translates to North Korea: Insights into a secretive country (2006). A 43-minute German documentary about a changing society. The film covers i.a. the following topics: the Kimchi harvest, energy shortages, the North Korean preschool system, the North Korean famine, English lessons in North Korean schools, private farm markets and restaurants, demand driven shoe production, a Buddhist temple, a Bowling alley and the International Friendship Exhibition.
• Kims Reich: Unterwegs in Nordkorea which translates to Kim's Kingdom: Travelling in North Korea (2006). A 27-minute German documentary about a Swiss tourist group. The film covers i.a. the Arirang Festival, a visit to a Buddhist temple, the demilitarized zone and the mountains of Kuwŏlsan and Myohyang-san.
• National Geographic: Inside North Korea (2007)
• Undercover in North Korea (2007)
• An American in North Korea (2007)
• North Korea: Hell on earth
• National Geographic: Don't Tell My Mother I'm In... (Episode on North Korea)
• North Korea a legacy of tension (2007)
• The Vice Guide to North Korea (2008)
• Kimjongilia (2008)
• The Juche Idea (2008). A 62-minute documentary about the Juche ideology.
• Vítejte v KLDR! (English title: Welcome to North Korea!) (2008) is a 71-minute Czech documentary about a Czech tourist group travelling to North Korea.
• Seven Days In North Korea (2008) is a documentary by David Pluth focusing solely on North Korean tourist attractions.
• Themepark 1984 (2009) [1]
• Kim Jong Il's Comedy Club (2009)
• Departures (TV series) (2010)
• The Red Chapel (2010). A Danish documentary about a fictional theatre group who want to perform in North Korea. The same footage was used in the 4-part documentary Det Røde Kapel (2006).
• Dictature, paranoïa, famine : bienvenue en Corée du Nord (2010). A 68-minute French documentary (M6 / Enquête exclusive) about a French tourist group visiting North Korea.
• Wide Angle: Crossing Heaven's Border (PBS)
• Seoul Sisters (2011). A Canadian documentary about the situation on the Korean Peninsula. Similar to Seoul Train and hosted by Max Jones, a 13-year-old Felice News co-host and North Korea activist.
• Vice - North Korean labor camps (2011), about North Korean camps in Siberia

Drama or Fiction

• The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954)
• Target Zero (1955)
• Jet Attack (1958)
• The Manchurian Candidate (1962 film) (1962)
• MASH (1970)
• Pulgasari (1985)
• The Rescue (1988)
• Defilada (1989)
• Provocateur (1998)
• Shiri (1999)
• Joint Security Area (2000)
• Die Another Day (2002)
• North Korean Guys (2003)
• Love Impossible (Namnam bungnyeo) (2003)
• Silmido (2003)
• Spy Girl (2004)
• Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War (2004)
• Team America: World Police (2004)
• Stealth (2005)
• Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005) (does not explicitly indicate whether it is set in North Korea)
• Crossing the Line (VMS /Koryo Tours 2006)
• Behind Enemy Lines II (2006)
• Comrades in Dreams (2006)[2]
• Crossing 크로싱 (2008)
• 71: Into the Fire (2010)
• Secret Reunion (2010)

References

1. ^ The New York Times: Welcome to North Korea (2003 movie review)
2. ^ The New York Times: TELEVISION REVIEW - Looking on the Bright Side About North Korea. August 6, 2003.