This film, shot mostly covertly, shows the irony of a regime where 20 million people lived in poverty, some on the brink of starvation, while former dictator Kim II Sung built extravagant monuments to reflect his power. He fostered a grotesque personality cult, which his son and successor Kim Jong Il perpetuates. All around the capital, Pyongyang, an endless stream of propaganda glorifies the leaders. Monuments and museums pay homage to them, but they are strangely empty.

The contrast between capitalist South Korea and the impoverished North is dramatically shown. The founder of Hyundai, Tsjoen Joe Jung is held in great esteem in the south. He believes in uniting the two Koreas and has made significant donations to economic development in the north, trying to ease the way to reunion.

The film crew was not allowed to interview people at random. The ones "selected to speak to foreigners" gave an idealized image of the regime that was hardly credible. Footage shot secretly by a Chinese relief organization attests to a generation dying from starvation and disease, and suffering terrible human rights abuses. Welcome to North Korea captures in a vivid manner the tight grip the regime has on its people, with a power not used benevolently.


(also available at 32 min.)

"Recommended. After viewing this technically excellent film, and acknowledging that 1,000,000 soldiers face one another on the border, one comes away understanding the danger to world peace that this clash of cultures has produced." David W. Sewicki, Butler Library, Buffalo State College for EMRO

"gives students a glimpse into a country that has been virtually closed to the rest of the world." School Library Journal

Seattle International Documentary Film Festival, 2003
Chicago International Documentary Film Festival, 2003
Best Documentary, International EMMY Awards, 2001