North Korea’s New Propaganda Film Turns Shockingly Graphic (Full Transcript)

Name: North Korea’s New Propaganda Film Turns Shockingly Graphic
Uploaded: 2026-01-16T11:03:48+00:00
Channel: GoTranscript
Description: A state TV movie uses modern, violent storytelling to target youth while reviving the regime’s long-standing cinematic obsession and leader-centric warning.

A state TV movie uses modern, violent storytelling to target youth while reviving the regime’s long-standing cinematic obsession and leader-centric warning.

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[00:00:00] Speaker 1: It's hard to believe this is North Korean propaganda. Graphic violence, partial nudity, even a suicide bomber. A new film just aired on North Korean state TV. It's called Days and Nights of Confrontation. The story's built around a long-rumored plot to blow up a train carrying the North Korean leader, and its style appeals to a younger audience. Their fixation on movies goes back decades. The late leader, Kim Jong-il, personally ran the nation's film industry, but secretly recorded audio reveals he complained about his own movies.

[00:00:29] Speaker 2: Why do you keep looking at my movies?

[00:00:34] Speaker 1: To realize his dreams of world-class North Korean movies, Kim Jong-il used a familiar tactic in his day. He kidnapped a South Korean movie star and her director ex-husband, and it happened right here in Hong Kong. The year was 1978. North Korean agents abducted Choi Eun-hee and Shin Sang-ok, taking both to Pyongyang, forcing them to make 17 films for Kim before they fled to the U.S. in 1986. Today, Kim Jong-un is ordering his studios to make bigger, bolder productions, modernizing a familiar message. Plotting against the leader ends in disaster.

Summary

A North Korean state TV film, 'Days and Nights of Confrontation,' features unusually graphic content and a modern style aimed at younger viewers while reinforcing the message that plots against the leader fail. The segment traces the regime’s long obsession with cinema, noting Kim Jong-il’s direct control over filmmaking, his private dissatisfaction with output, and his notorious 1978 kidnapping of South Korean actress Choi Eun-hee and director Shin Sang-ok to produce films in Pyongyang. Under Kim Jong-un, studios are again being pushed toward bigger, bolder productions that modernize propaganda themes.

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Title

North Korea’s Propaganda Cinema Goes Graphic and Modern

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Keywords

North Korea Remove

propaganda Remove

state television Remove

Days and Nights of Confrontation Remove

Kim Jong-il Remove

Kim Jong-un Remove

film industry Remove

kidnapping Remove

Choi Eun-hee Remove

Shin Sang-ok Remove

Pyongyang

Hong Kong

defection

political messaging Remove

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Key Takeaways

North Korean propaganda films are adopting more graphic, contemporary aesthetics to reach younger audiences.
The regime’s leadership has historically treated film as a strategic tool for legitimacy and control.
Kim Jong-il directly managed the film industry and even criticized his own productions in private recordings.
The 1978 abductions of Choi Eun-hee and Shin Sang-ok were used to boost North Korea’s film output and prestige.
Current messaging remains consistent: any attempt to harm or undermine the leader is portrayed as ending in catastrophe.

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Sentiments

Neutral: The tone is reportorial and factual, highlighting shocking elements (graphic violence, abduction) without overt emotional language, focusing on historical context and propaganda purpose.

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