National Geographic: Inside North Korea

[Anonymous]

I show this video in my World History class every year. The students are always struck by how the North Koreans thank their leader for every good thing that happens to them regardless of whether he had anything to do with it. After the doctor fixes their eye sight they don't thank the doctor but their Great Leader. It is an amazing video for introducing Communism in the classroom but I usually use it after teaching about the Korean War. It takes one period and gives students great insight to the affects of the cold war.

[Anonymous]

I remember following the ordeal of Lisa Ling's sister being held captive in North Korea, and Clinton and Bush Sr. helping with their release. I think it's great that you show this video to your students so that more people are educated about North and South Korea. Great film choice!

[Anonymous]

I started showing excerpts of this last year as an introduction to Totalitarian governments. The timing was great, because my students were able to compare it to the fictional government of their favorite book - The Hunger Games.

[Anonymous]

This film sounds very interesting. I would be interested in watching it just to visually see some of the drastic differences between North and South Korea. Also, I think it is fascinating that the people do not thank the doctors or those who directly help them but rather their political leader. What a different society!

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

In this documentary, National Geographic film crew and Lisa Ling are allowed to enter North Korea disguised as a medical group who are completing eye surgeries for people who have cataracts. I showed this to my students this year in AP World History. It was filmed in 2006 so it displays Kim Jong Il as the leader. Most students will be familiar with his death and the subsequent takeover by his son. The documentary shows the differences between North and South Korea, propaganda techniques of the government, personal homes of Koreans, medical facilities, lack of technology, and border policies. (South Korea only has soldiers who are 5’ 8” or taller patrol the border.) Lisa Ling also interviews a border guard who defects from North Korea. My students were captivated by this 50-minute documentary and talked about it for weeks. I plan to show it again this year when I get to cold war & current topics.
This documentary can be found on Netflix and is currently in its entirety on youtube.
Note that Lisa Ling’s sisters were held in captivity in 2009 for crossing illegally into North Korea from the China border. They garnered international media attention when they were released and have since written a book about the ordeal mentioned in great detail on NPR http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126613763 .
edited by tbryant on 7/29/2012

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