A North Korean film is captivating audiences with scenes and storylines they have never seen before in a state-approved movie. Kyodo News/Getty ImagesBecause of the tightly controlled nature of North Korean society, independent accounts from ordinary moviegoers are impossible to obtain. It borrows the visual grammar of Hollywood thrillers in ways North Korean cinema long avoided. In Korean War epics like “Wolmi Island,” villains are foreign and obvious, while North Korean characters remain ideologically pure. via Magnolia PicturesWhat Kim Jong Il did not anticipate was that Sheen and Choi were secretly recording their meetings with him.

Source: The North Africa Journal January 21, 2026 12:25 UTC