December 2023 UPDATE
North Korean Documentaries Available to Watch Online
Koryo Tours & Studio and VeryMuchSo Productions of the UK collaborated for several years on the production of three North Korean documentaries, gaining access never before or since experienced by any film crew in North Korea.
North Korean Documentaries
Available to Watch Online
These North Korean films were unavailable for some years. Finally, Koryo Studio can bring you the first-ever chance to download and own (or rent) your very own copies of these amazing North Korean documentaries.
The Game of Their Lives
North Korea’s 1966 World Cup football heroes tell their own story after decades of silence.
A tale both sporting and deeply human.
A State of Mind
Two young gymnasts struggle for months to prepare for the performance of their lives in Pyongyang. This features the deepest access to normal North Koreans ever put on film.
Crossing the Line
In 1962 American soldier Joe Dresnok defected to North Korea.
Decades later, this film allowed him to tell his life story, one unlike anyone else has ever experienced. An almost unbelievable tale you will never forget.
Read more on these North Korean documentaries below.
The Game of Their Lives (2002)
Watch The Game of Their Lives on Vimeo
Available to Stream & Download.
> Read more on how the Game Of Their Lives was born.
> Is the football record from 1966 still standing?
The Game of their Lives
Language:
English & Korean
Subtitles:
English, when Korean is spoken (hardcoded)
In 1966, North Korea qualified for the World Cup, held that year in England. A highly unexpected result and one that the footballing authorities in London were not prepared for at all.
They were even less ready for what happened next!
This North Korean documentary was the first documentary to be produced by Nicholas Bonner of Koryo Tours and directed by award-winning filmmaker Daniel Gordon. It was shot in Pyongyang in 2001 after a decade of negotiations to gain permission and access to the players.
It features all the surviving players of the 1966 DPRK football heroes, plus their coach, and many others who were involved in their adventures in England back in ’66. The Game of Their Lives tells the amazing and completely true story of the greatest upset in world football history.
A human story as much as a sporting one.
The film introduces the audience to men who once set the soccer world alight and then disappeared for decades immediately afterwards. Find out what happened in their own words in this groundbreaking and very special film.
“Right after the war, I worked in a print factory as a labourer. While I was labouring, I started playing football. In 1957, I was selected to play for the Pyongyang team. That was when I turned professional. I was already 20 years old. In 1959, I was selected for the National Squad.”
“The English people took us to their hearts and vice versa. I learned that football is not only about the winning. Wherever we go playing football can improve diplomatic relations and promote peace.”
Pak Do Ik
PHOTOGRAPH: Pak Do Ik. Size; 33.7 x 27.8 cms incl. 2 cm white border printed on hahnemühle matt paper.
A State of Mind (2004)
Watch A State of Mind on Vimeo
Available to Stream & Download.
> Read more on A State Of Mind.
> What are North Korea’s Mass Games really like?
A State of Mind
Language:
English & Korean
Subtitles:
English, when Korean is spoken (hardcoded)
Shot throughout several visits to Pyongyang throughout 2003, A State of Mind broke new ground in terms of access to normal residents of the North Korean capital and their everyday lives. This includes their homes, schools, and workplaces.
This North Korean documentary spends a year in the lives of two schoolgirl gymnasts as they train and prepare for the Mass Games. The Mass Games are a massive propaganda spectacular displaying artistic excellence and nationalistic propaganda.
An event that there is nothing else on the scale of anywhere else in the world.
A State of Mind shows us their struggles, the training they have to go through both physically and ideologically, as well as their family’s views on the girls’ efforts as well as their daily lives. Again, something never before seen in a North Korean documentary.
Touching, poignant, unforgettable, and completely human – A State of Mind shows the viewers lives that they could never have imagined before.
Crossing the Line (2006)
Watch Crossing the Line Online on Vimeo
Available to stream & download.
> Nick Bonner Looking back on filming Crossing The Line.
> Read more about DPRK film series starring the American defectors.
Crossing the Line
Language:
English & Korean
Subtitles:
English, when Korean is spoken (hardcoded)
Crossing the Line tells an utterly unforgettable and almost unbelievable true story decades in the making. The story of the life of James Joseph ‘Joe’ Dresnok, an American soldier who defected to North Korea in 1962, and remained there for the rest of his life.
Shot in 2005, by which time Dresnok had spent more than forty years in the DPRK, Crossing the Line lets Dresnok tell the story of why he did what he did, what his life has been like, as well as looking at the other Americans who also made the incredible choice to defect to their communist enemy in the 60s.
Packed with shocking revelations, unparalleled insight, and access beyond anything ever achieved by a film crew before or since in the DPRK, Crossing the Line is one of the most unforgettable documentaries ever made and a story that will make the viewer think and reflect on how strange some lives turn out to be.
Don’t miss this one, the magnum opus of Koryo Tours’ documentary work.
These three groundbreaking North Korean documentaries were all produced by VeryMuchSo Productions and Koryo Tours.
They are all directed by the amazing Dan Gordon (who has developed a hugely impressive filmography over the years) and produced by Koryo Tours & Studio’s very own Nicholas Bonner.
Never previously available to rent or own as a download, this is your chance to experience some of the most fascinating stories to have come out of the most enigmatic place on earth.
The best North Korean documentaries ever made in the DPRK.
And three truly groundbreaking pieces of work.
