North Korea’s Secret Movie Bootleggers: How Western Films Make It Into the Hermit Kingdom
It might be violently anti-Hollywood, but the repressive North Korean authorities can’t stop Western movies from being smuggled into the Hermit Kingdom.
Photo Illustration by Emil Lendof/The Daily Beast
For North Korean defector Yeonmi Park, it was Titanic. For another defector, Chongyang Joo, it was Charlie’s Angels.
For many of those living in the Hermit Kingdom, it’s illicit South Korean soap operas and Chinese television. And for any citizens of the Kim Jong Un dictatorship, the penalty for consuming non-approved films or television shows is hard labor, prison, or death.
But regardless of the potential punishment, North Korean defectors claim that exposure to Western and South Korean media has inspired them to rebel against their oppressors. In fact, countless North Koreans risk their lives every day to watch foreign films, desperate to learn about the world outside of their communist country.
