Kimjongilia is about North Korean defectors. They tell us what their lives were like there and how they escaped. Of course every word that comes from these people’s mouths is heartbreaking. They didn’t have the freedom to do anything and if they were suspected of any crime (and just about everything counts as a crime) then you were taken away to a concentration camp or were executed. They explain that their god there is Kim Il-sung (Kim Jong-il’s father). He turned the country into a communist state back in the 40’s after World War II. These North Koreans go on to tell stories about horrible famine, how they had to pretend like everything was ok and that they weren’t starving, how they got in trouble because of something that one of their family members or friends did and how hard it was to escape.
What’s really messed up is that it’s hard enough to try and get out of North Korea but it’s also hard to not be caught and brought back. The easier way to cross the border is to go through China because the DMZ is “the scariest place on earth” as you already know. But the problem is that China sends back defectors. If they catch you at the border then North Korea will kill you right there but if you make into China the Chinese have agents that seek these people out. So once you’re out, you’re not free yet. If you can make it to South Korea then you’re golden ‘cause North and South Korea fucking hate each other so the South is going to save as many as they can. But it’s next to impossible to go straight to South Korea so you’re fucked.
It’s an interesting documentary that is very very sad. They do give you background on the country which is very helpful and they found a whole range of people that left. Like there’s a young man who was 24 when he escaped, a concert pianist, an army captain, a little girl who was carried across while she was in a coma and others. One of the more fascinating things they tell us is that they would go back in an instant if Kim Jong-il was no longer in power or if the government changed. You would think they would never want to go back to a place where they suffered so much but they still have sentimental feelings about their homeland. So if you’re looking to hear about some terrifying and horrific shit then look no further.
Believe it or not there were a couple of people that actually escaped to North Korea. In Crossing the Line we focus on one in particular, James Dresnok. Dresnok’s childhood and early adulthood was kinda fucked up. He thought by joining the army it would be good for him but it didn’t help. In fact he felt worse and got even more depressed. So while he was stationed on the North, South Korea border in 1962 he decided to go into North Korea. He had had enough of the army life and didn’t care whether he lived or died. He had to cross barbed wire and a very large minefield but he made it to the other side unharmed. At first the North Koreans detained him and questioned him but after a little while they let him go. So he’s a citizen of North Korea now. What’s even stranger is that he wasn’t the first to defect and he wasn’t the last either. Four in all left the U.S. army and went into North Korea to start their lives over.
Flash forward to 43 years later and Dresnok is still living in North Korea happier than he’s ever been. He has kids and a new girlfriend/wife and likes his life. He learned the customs and how to speak the language and he’s never regretted his decision. Surprisingly the North Koreans accepted him and the other three into their society because they thought it would look good for them and lure others to come over. They put their pictures on magazine covers looking like they’re having a good time. They were even featured in a film in the 70’s about North Korea kicking the world’s ass and they had the Americans play well…evil Americans.
Inside North Korea I thought was the best of the three. It packed the most information into the shortest amount of time (it’s only about 50 mins long). I also thought that it might have been the most telling. This one focuses on a Nepalese eye surgeon named Dr. Ruit and he’s going to North Korea to perform about a thousand surgeries on people who have gone blind from cataracts. He developed a new, easy and inexpensive way to cure people with this affliction and he goes around the world doing this. Obviously he doesn’t care where he goes, he just wants to help people.
Going along for the ride is a journalist named Lisa Ling but the country is very much against any foreigners, especially Americans, coming in. So Ling and her camera crew pose as part of Dr. Ruit’s medical team. They sneak in camera equipment and microphones n’ shit. When they arrive in North Korea the government sends minders (people that follow you around making sure you don’t do illegal shit and remember everything is illegal there) to watch them. They’re only supposed to be shooting Dr. Ruit’s patients but they secretly film just about everything they see and encounter.
Ling does a great job giving us the background of the country and not only visits the hospital where Dr. Ruit works but also a typical North Korean household of one of the patients and the DMZ. At the apartment where she’s allowed to film a family she asks them questions about Kim Jong-il and no one says a bad word about the guy. Not only that but they praise him and owe everything they own and even their lives to him. One of the patients is asked why she wants to be cured of cataracts and she says she wants to see the supreme leader (that’s what they call Kim Jong-il as well as dear leader) and thank him for allowing them such a great life. Of course the irony is that maybe if Kim Jong-il took better care of his people and supplied the country with better medical facilities then this poor woman might not have gotten to the point of being blind with cataracts in the first place.
It’s amazing to see how fucking brainwashed these people are. It’s pathetic but it’s also really sad. I mean they can’t do anything about their situation even if they come to the realization that they live in a fucked up country with a fucked up dictator. These people don’t know any better. They’re taught from birth that Kim Il-sung was god and that Kim Jong-il is the son of god and that if it wasn’t for them they wouldn’t be alive or have anything.
When Ling goes to the DMZ it does seem like a pretty scary place. You see, North Korea and South Korea never signed a peace treaty after the Korean War. So technically they’re both still at war with each other. They have to stand facing each other all day every day so each side is constantly watching. The only way they contact each other is through an old phone system from the 60’s. Ling manages to get footage of South Korea trying to relay a message but there’s no response on the phone so they have pull out the fucking megaphone and yell it at them. But there’s still no response. It’s fucking unbelievable how basic communication has broken down between these two nations.
Man North Korea is fucked but you don’t need to see these documentaries to know that. However if you want to fill in some detail then I would recommend seeing Inside North Korea first (it’s on Netflix). It had a really cool feeling to it because you know that what you’re watching was done undercover and that these people risked their lives to bring this footage to your T.V. The other two docs are if you want to go further into the North Korean saga and learn even more about how people in that country live.
Ok I think I’ve had my fill of North Korea for a long while. Jesus, what a place.
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