DPRK on the BBC and elsewhere

On Radio Three, on BBC TV, and also on the National Geographic Channel.

1. First up, what you’ve all been waiting for: the screening of Dan Gordon’s latest film, Crossing the Line. It’s on BBC4 on 22 March. Set the video, because of course most of you in London will be having some Ferrero Rocher with the ambassadors, won’t you¹? It’s on at 9pm and repeated at 12:50am (just after midnight the same evening). It lasts one and a half hours.
2. Next, Andy Kershaw, the BBC’s World Music supremo, has two travel programmes featuring music in the DPRK. Available on the BBC website here. I haven’t had a chance to listen to them yet, but here’s what the Observer says:
   “chaotic, informative, colourful, funny, moving – everything, in short, you could hope for in a documentary and the one against which all future travel programmes should be rated”
   There’s also some good photos, including some pics from the DPRK side of the DMZ. There’s a sample below – a Kayagum class in the June 9th secondary school.
3. There’s a couple of YouTube extracts from a National Geographic programme on the DPRK here and here. The whole programme is shortly available on DVD. Available for pre-order here.
4. For those who want to experience the DPRK first hand, the Mass Games are on this year, in April / May and August to October. Book your tickets via Koryo Tours www.koryogroup.com
5. Some propaganda videos over at YouTube, via koreanfilm.org

Thanks to Nick Bonner for telling me about items 1, 2 and 4, and Tom Coyner for item 3.

Links

• ‘CROSSING THE LINE’ www.crossingthelinefilm.com
• ‘A STATE OF MIND’ www.astateofmind.co.uk
• ‘THE GAME OF THEIR LIVES’ www.thegameoftheirlives.com

1. The equivalent available at Young Bean is their peppermint humbugs. Not quite 박하 사탕, but probably as near as you are going to get in EC2 [↩]