Kim Jong-il

A contemporary history of Korea(s) from a unique point of view that embraces the inner history of both South and North Korea in a single narrative.

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This documentary celebrates the life of former President Kim Dae-joong, who fought for democracy in South Korea and peace in the Korean Peninsula. It marks the 10th anniversary of his passing and covers his challenging journey, from his childhood on an island to his imprisonment, exile, near-death experiences, and ultimately becoming the president.

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Being denounced on international news, shamed in national tabloids, and slandered on social media is all just part of the job for Dermot Hudson, Official Delegate and Chairman of the Korean Friendship Association in the United Kingdom. As the threat of war loomed between Trump & the West and Kim Jong Un & North Korea, KFA set out to defend the independence and socialist construction of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, to fight the “mirror of lies,” and to promote its Juche Ideology, the official state ideology of North Korea. For the first time, Dermot allowed a film crew into his work and home in order to tell his story. This short documentary delves into Hudson's life to capture a portrait of a man alienated by his own nation and unafraid to speak out against the status quo, even at the peak of media and public hysteria.

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Shedding new light on a geopolitical hot spot, the film — written and produced by John Maggio and narrated by Korean-American actor John Cho — confronts the myth of the “Forgotten War,” documenting the post-1953 conflict and global consequences.

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NHK WORLD PRIME brings you a world of mainly documentaries, and more. Tune in to see special select programs on all sorts of topics and genres.

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Hong Kong, 1978. South Korean actress Choi Eun-hee is kidnapped by North Korean operatives following orders from dictator Kim Jong-il.

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Operating under a pseudonym which means 'no boundaries' - North Korean defector Sun Mu creates political pop art based on his life, homeland, and hope for a future united Korea. His hidden identity is nearly compromised when a massive historical exhibit in Beijing is shuttered by Chinese and North Korean authorities.

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North Korea. The last communist country in the world. Unknown, hermetic and fascinating. Formerly known as “The Hermit Kingdom” for its attempts to remain isolated, North Korea is one of the largest sources of instability as regards world peace. It also has the most militarized border in the world, and the flow of impartial information, both going in and out, is practically non-existent. As the recent Sony-leaks has shown, it is the perfect setting for a propaganda war.

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A journey through several countries to find those who really know Kim Jong-un, North Korea's leader, in an attempt to profile a contradictory dictator who seems to rule his nation with both disturbing benevolence and cold cruelty while being worshipped as a living god by his subjects in exalted displays of ridiculous fanaticism.

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Dennis Rodman is on a mission. After forging an unlikely friendship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, he wants to improve relations between North Korea and the US by staging a historic basketball game between the two countries. But the North Korean team isn't the only opposition he'll face... Condemned by the NBA and The Whitehouse, and hounded every step of the way by the press, can Dennis keep it together and make the game happen? Or will it go up in a mushroom cloud of smoke? For the first time, discover the true story of what happened when Dennis Rodman took a team of former-NBA players to North Korea and staged the most controversial game of basketball the world has never seen.

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They’ve become the human face of inhuman barbarity. Leaders like Hitler, Idi Amin Dada, Stalin, Kim Jong Il, Saddam Hussein, Nicolae Ceausescu, Bokassa, Muammar Kadhafi, Khomeini, Mussolini and Franco governed their countries completely cut off from reality. These paranoid leaders were driven to abuse their power by the pathology of power itself. Dictators are driven by a relentless, thought-out determination to impose themselves as infallible, all-knowing and all-powerful beings. But they are also men ruled by their caprices, uncontrollable impulses, and reckless fits of frenzy, which paradoxically render them as human as anyone else. The abuses they committed were clearly atrocious, yet some of them were as outlandish as the characters portrayed in the film The Dictator. They sunk to depths worthy of Kafka: so incredibly absurd, they are outrageously funny.

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Recording a 24-hour period throughout every country in the world, we explore a greater diversity of perspectives than ever seen before on screen. We follow characters and events that evolve throughout the day, interspersed with expansive global montages that explore the progression of life from birth, to death, to birth again. In the end, despite unprecedented challenges and tragedies throughout the world, we are reminded that every day we are alive there is hope and a choice to see a better future together. Founded in 2008, it set out to explore our planet's identity and challenges in an attempt to answer the question: Who are we?

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Director Watanabe proposes that Kim Jong-il, supreme leader of North Korea, died in September 2003, and that this fact has been concealed by the media and government

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We went to North Korea to try and penetrate the Korean Feature Film Studio, the state-run film production facility west of Pyongyang: a sprawling lot that at its height produced around 40 films a year.

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Two Danish comedians join the director on a trip to North Korea, where they have been allowed access under the pretext of wanting to perform a vaudeville act.

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A fictional investigative documentary looks back on the "assassination" of George W. Bush and attempts to answer the question of who committed the murder. Perhaps less morbid and disturbing to watch now than during Bush's presidency, the film doesn't address Bush's policies at all, instead focusing on the way a nation assigns blame in a time of crisis.

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Hilarious and sobering account of the first time an international group of Kim Jong Il supporters visits North Korea. In 12 days, the 22 participants travel through a country full of monuments, propaganda and poverty. What begins as a idealistic magical mystery tour gradually turns into a nightmare.

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Two young North Korean gymnasts prepare for an unprecedented competition in this documentary that offers a rare look into the communist society and the daily lives of North Korean families. For more than eight months, film crews follow 13-year-old Pak Hyon Sun and 11-year-old Kim Song Yun and their families as the girls train for the Mass Games, a spectacular nationalist celebration.

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Documentary film praising the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il for his political and social values, and beliefs to build a strong communist nation.

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A documentary highlighting how both Kim il-Sung and Kim Jong-il work for the prosperity of the juche system and North Korean people.

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Defilada was made on the occasion of the 40th anniversary celebrations of state's founding in North Korea, which the regime intended to use to eclipse the 1988 Summer Olympics taking place that year in Seoul, South Korea. The North Korean regime invited filmmakers from countries then considered friendly (read: Communist), including People's Republic of Poland, which sent a team under Andrzej Fidyk. The documentary is primarily composed of declarative statements, as well as texts of North Korean newspapers and books. There was no author's commentary. Fidyk commented that he and his team were likely “the most disciplined” foreign team of filmmakers in North Korea, as they did not trouble the regime by looking under the surface - they were content with what they were given and asked to do. (Wikipedia)

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