This film tells the story
of how brave North Koreans, both in and outside the country, are breaking down
the barriers to show the world the true horrors of the gulag state and allow
those still inside to see what life is like on the outside. Following the
journey of a small group of North Korean secret filmmakers, this programme
shows the viewer what life is really like under the new leader Kim Jong Un,
highlighting the contrast of 70% of farms still dependent on ox-drawn ploughs
to the glittering life of the elite in Pyongyang and the huge growth of private
markets in the cities. The starving children on the streets are victims not of
the famine, but of artificial food shortages engendered by corruption. We are
shown the secret trade in USBs, cell phones and DVDs from the South, which are
transforming North Koreans’ views of their world and the gulags, in which an
estimated 130,000 political prisoners are still imprisoned.
2014 BAFTA nomination for current affairs.