The Secret State of North Korea is a short documentary film released by PBS about life in North Korea under their leader Kim Jong-un. It involves a network of undercover journalists secretly filming footage within the country mixed with interviews from experts and testimonials from defectors, which is what they call people who have escaped from North Korea. The film takes us through the struggles of everyday life for a majority of the population, the horrors of being caught trying to escape the country and the hypocrisy of the government feigning a good picture outside while its citizens suffer. A message of hope is however pushed by the film as it shows people risking their lives to inform themselves about the outside world and even openly protesting when they feel aggrieved, although not on political terms yet.
The film starts with images of young children wandering in the street with one of the journalists asking a small girl what she’s doing on the street and she responds that her mother found it difficult to take care of her so she came to the streets. They then approach another group of kids in torn clothes trying to put up a fire to keep themselves warm in the near freezing temperatures. One of the journalists asks if they could not find any work and one of the boys responds that he cannot work as he only has one hand. The other arm was cut off by the train. By starting with these images, the film wants the viewer to get a sense of how difficult life can be in the country even for young kids who are supposed to be under the care of their parents. The film then shows Pyongyang's Department Store Number 1 fully stocked with imported products from all over the world but none of the items is on sale. The rows upon rows of bottled water and jewelry are just for display. As expected, the government’s propaganda machine features the store on national TV regularly to show outsiders how good life is in the country. This theme of deception by the government to the outside world reverberates in the film. People in the villages are filmed gathering ‘voluntarily’ every week to sing praises about their leader and these are broadcast on National TV in a bid to show much he is loved yet it is widely known the participants had no say in the decision.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Later on in the film, a group of girls is shown secretly watching a TV show they have received through a thumb drive. As this happens, the camera tilts slightly to show hanging portraits of Kim Jong-un and his father symbolizing his omnipresence. The fear and uncertainty of being found is shown in their body language but they still risk it and watch these films that smugglers like Jeong, a defector, sneaks into the country. The main theme in the film keeps on growing from one of hunger and struggle to one of hope on a growing silent resistance. As it nears the end, the film shows a woman who yells and pushes a soldier who attempts to fine her for wearing pants confirming the hope of a budding resistance. It has not become political yet but there is a hope that a revolution may not be that distant.
The film offers a number of new things to learn for the viewer. It is evident that the people of North Korea are not as brainwashed as people outside would like to think. The praises seen on TV are not voluntary and the lavish lifestyles are as fake as the Department 1 store. It was also good to know that the citizens are slowly pushing the limits put on them as was the case with the illegal markets that people formed after the government was unable to feed them.
The resistance also forms the most interesting parts of the film. There is a scene where an army officer tried to stop a woman running an illegal private bus service from picking up passengers and she angrily retaliates mocking him to show his stars if he’s an officer then proceeding to abuse him. It was amazing to know that not only were the citizens gradually speaking out but that even a woman could publicly insult a male officer and get away with it.
As students of political science, the power of information and exposure is one major thing to relate to in the film. Nearly all the defectors interviewed confessed to having watched films about the outside world before defecting. Information opens up the mind to new possibilities encouraging them to challenge existing limits and boundaries. Even the North Korean regime recognizes this fact and has tried to limit the flow of information into the country but this is getting harder as technology advances.
The main strength of the film is in its ability to highlight the poor living conditions of many people in the country despite the filming challenges they had. Getting interviews from defectors was also quite good as it helps provide a firsthand experience of the conditions within the country. A major weakness however was the failure to properly highlight those living a good life in the country. From the film, one may think that all North Koreans are living in poverty while this is not the case. Only one example is given and it was even mentioned in passing about a woman getting a new Mercedes for her birthday in the early stages of the film. This makes the film look slightly biased. Once outside the country, the crew would have also located a sympathizer of the regime and let them give their side of the story.
The film however achieves its purpose which was to show that amidst the despair and struggle being witnessed in North Korea, there is still a glimmer of hope that things will change if the evidences of resistance were anything to go by. It may not happen as fast as one would like but it will surely happen. The regime is struggling to keep its tight grip and it’s no longer a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’ the revolution will take place.
References
PBS (2014). Frontline Season 36 Episode 6: Secret State of North Korea . Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/video/frontline-secret-state-north-korea/
