Details

Jeremy Hunter - the celebrated photographer - has had unprecedented access to North Korea, and has compiled and shot an extraordinary record of daily life in one of the most secretive and isolated states on Earth. North Korea (DPRK) is the only hereditary communist 'monarchy' in the world. It is also the most repressive nation on earth, probably the most brutal and certainly the most secretive. Propaganda pervades every single facet of life in North Korea. The Cult of the Kim Dynasty is not only based on, but sustained, through propaganda. And by consistent, and persistent, distortion and fabrication of the truth. Robert Gates, former CIA director, considered the country to be "the toughest intelligence target in the world". Jeremy Hunter is one of a band of Pyongyang "watchers" who is both repelled yet fascinated by the country. He entered the country just before the death of Kim Jong-Il, Kim 2, the Dear Leader, to photograph "ARIRANG" - an extraordinary, epic, propagandist spectacle. It was a two hour mass-celebration on a mind-boggling scale that had been staged outdoors, in Pyongyang in the world's largest stadium, every August and September for the previous ten years featuring a meticulously choreographed military and gymnastic display before vast backdrops created out of thousands of hand-held flip charts. In 60 minutes, Jeremy Hunter illustrates and reveals the cultural and political significance of many of these backdrops, and in the first half of his talk gives an extraordinary account of daily life in one of the strangest and most secretive states on Earth.

Cast/Performers

Jeremy Hunter