Category Archives: Kim Jong-il

Kim Jong-il: On the Art of Cinema

Posted on April 1, 2013 by

A little light reading for a Monday… Here are a few of my favourite quotes as I (not for the first time) flick through Kim Jong-il’s seminal tome on how to make a film (in North Korea). “A film without … Continue reading →

Posted in Kim Jong-il, North Korea Books, North Korean Films | Leave a comment

Documentary: Kim Jong-Il and Stars (Part 1)

Posted on November 30, 2012 by

I know I promised the mother-lode  but I’m afraid it’s just going to have to be another taste. Here’s the first part (there are three in total) of a DPRK documentary about Kim Jong-Il’s efforts as a producer in North Korea. … Continue reading →

Posted in Documentary, Kim Jong-il, North Korea, North Korean Films | 2 Comments

Taedongmun Cinema House

Posted on November 12, 2012 by

I discovered the mother-lode of North Korean films. More on that later. For now, here’s a documentary – in English – on the cinema in the middle of Pyongyang. So happy to have tracked this down.

Posted in Cinema, Kim Il-Sung, Kim Jong-il, Pyongyang, Taedongmun Cinema, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Book Review: North Korean Cinema: A History

Posted on October 31, 2012 by

This has been a long time coming. It’s coming up to two years that I’ve been intermittently running this site. And before that it was a a good year or two that I was talking about writing “something” about North Korean cinema. … Continue reading →

Posted in Co-production, Kim Jong-il, North Korea Books, Pyongyang International Film Festival, Shin Sang-ok, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Interview: Johannes Schönherr, North Korea cinema expert

Posted on July 7, 2012 by

Even a cursory google around the internet on the subject of North Korean cinema will lead you, quite rightly, in the direction of Johannes Schönherr. My first introduction to Schönherr came when I discovered that his memoir “Trashfilm Roadshow” contained within it a chapter … Continue reading →

Posted in Johannes Schönherr, Kim Il-Sung, Kim Jong-il, Kung Fu, Shin Sang-ok, Woman Warrior of Koryo | 3 Comments

Screenwriter: Ui Ung Yong

Posted on May 26, 2012 by

A Korean feature film “Two Families in Haeun-dong” produced in 1996 and the other “Myself in the Distant Future” in 1997 gave deep emotions to the Korean people. The former shows that one can only enjoy happiness in family when he devotes everything … Continue reading →

Posted in Kim Jong-il, North Korea, North Korean Films | Tagged | 2 Comments

Kim Jong Il and the Development of Cinema Art

Posted on January 12, 2012 by

 As reported on the North Korea Tech blog, Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the Workers’ Party of Korea and North Korea’s main national daily, launched an English-language website over the last couple of days with quite a large amount of … Continue reading →

Posted in Kim Jong-il, North Korean Films, Pyongyang Nalpharam, The Flower Girl, The Schoolgirl's Diary | Leave a comment

Kim Jong Il: Director

Posted on December 19, 2011 by

Kim Jong-Il (1941-2011) probably did more than anyone to advance the North Korean film industry. Take from that what you will. Another interesting tidbit emerged in the torrent of news surrounding the death of Kim Jong-Il: Dr. Francois-Xavier Roux, French neurosurgeon … Continue reading →

Posted in An Jung-gun Shoots Ito Hirobumi, Kim Jong-il | Leave a comment

North Korean DVDs

Posted on December 1, 2011 by

The eternal problem for any North Korean movie enthusiast (although sometimes I feel like I’m the only one out there!) is how to track the films down. From sites like Wikipedia and IMDb (and dare I say it, this humble site … Continue reading →

Posted in DPRK Film Database, Kim Jong-il, Nameless Heroes, North Korea Books | 5 Comments