Entertainment Made By North Korea 

Go to ground.news/paper to stay fully informed on what’s happening in North Korea and around the world. Subscribe through my link for 40% off unlimited access this month. 1. Addendum: I'm currently looking into ways to categorize and share all the movies/music/tv shows/channels I found during research. For now: if there's anything from this video you'd like to watch for yourself, leave a comment/send me an email, and I'll provide a link! 2. Wanna listen to Funky's recording of "that" North Korean rock band at the end? Enjoy! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Q05d_mX5hwU.html 3. I may eventually released the full 9 hour version of the video. Bad news, it won't be for awhile. Good news, I promise it won't be behind a Patreon paywall or something. Maybe the subchannel. But.... 4....If you'd like to see the full Collision in Korea segment I had to cut for copyright issues, here you go: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sFh5R9XwiiE.html 5. Recommended channels/reading: StreeterSweeper's excellent video on the difficulties of studying North Korea: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WdEL1m8PhYo.html (It's one of my favorite RU-vid videos of all time, please check it out!) North Korea Uncovered www.youtube.com/@NorthKoreaUncovered DPRK Explained ru-vid.com Jacco Zwetsloot's wonderful thesis on NK comics, "North Korean Comics and their Visual Language in the Work of Ch’oe Hyŏk" t.co/fAB98iYYO6 6. Additional Sources List/Recommended Reading/Accounts from the March can be found here: pastebin.com/7X2QJsc5 7. Corrections/Notes - The Kim Il Sung "cameos" were actually performed by several actors, not Kim Il Sung himself. I phrased it REALLY badly in the video by comparing it to Stan Lee cameos, that's my bad. - Quite a few users have pointed out, I was 100% wrong about the Simba/Kimba White Lion comparison! If you'd like to learn more, YMS has a terrific video explaining the situation, (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-G5B1mIfQuo4.html) - In later seasons of Squirrel and Hedgehog, the real-world country comparisons become a lot more cut and dry. I should have talked a bit more about that. - The "Now You Realize This Means War" comic seems to be a fake. What a terrible, wonderful relief. (I'll credit the user who mentioned this once I get their approval!) - Thanks to @derbydali for pointing out that Shonen Mowgli Jungle Book and Robin Hood were produced in Japan, and only distributed by MondoTV. - @hogziller pointed out that the train game was a minigame Uriminzokkiri apparently took from Railroad Tycoon 3. - Some people have pointed out that in the 2000s, Squirrel and Hedgehog really began leaning heavily into more obvious parallels (the wolves are America, bears are Russia, etc.) and I think that's true, but I maintain that in the 70s and 80s, the characters were more representations of general ideas and not specific countries. Just my opinion though! If I missed something, please let me know and I'll add it to the list!

The only RU-vidr that makes the year-long wait pay off. Incredible video

At the end of the day, N.Koreans are still people. People who live lives, people who suffer, people who create, people who can laugh, people who are talented and have ingenuity. And that people aren't their government. Good vid.

No joke, this video un-tiktoked my brain and made me enjoy these extra long form, documentary style, RU-vid videos again. Thank you paper will and everyone who helped make this project happen! 🎉

I absolutely love how some dude called Funky goes to North Korea and basically does School of Rock. Like, literally, man goes to teach rock music to a group of students, already talented in classical, bonds with them over music, then gets them to write their own rock song.

Not being ironic here, but im actually surprised you were able to put this together so quickly. 18 months to completely educate yourself on an entire country's history of entertainment AND chronicle it in a cohesive manner is INSANE! Outstanding job, I hope you're proud of your work!

i need the 9 hour "no stuff cut out" version so bad please go on 37 more tangents

Your seriously talented. I like creators who aren’t afraid to dive deep, and evade the temptation of quick shallow minimally educating snap shots made for short attention spans. Also the dedication and patience of making and finishing a final product takes a lot of fortitude. Bravo. If it’s long, let the consumer choose to watch it in sections or devour it in one feast, let the consumer decide, which you do, thanks for that. Plus your commentary and humor is priceless and very tasteful. I wish you massive success, keep it up, I’ll keep looking for more releases. Take care and be well.

“ooooh im gunna hop over the dmz if you dont quit it girl” absolutely hilarious

It’s such a shame paper will disappeared an hour after this came out, I can’t believe he vanished after being summoned to a North Korean embassy to be awarded a golden medal, we’ll find you Will!

I have a theory about all the ABBA music; Sweden was actually one of the first countries to establish diplomatic ties with North Korea (and actually maintains an embassy in Pyongyang to this day), so when you joked about them thinking ABBA was the only music westerners listen to, swedish people were the only ones people consistently interacted with in government so maybe that's not so far from the truth!

This is stupidly good. I can't believe you managed to keep a 5 and a half hour video so consistently engaging, informational, and funny. I know this was an insane amount of time and effort and I hope you're as proud of it as you should be. Thank you!

Bro, I found you in the comment section of fan made Batman short film and saw a tick next to your name and clicked it, I have no regrets. Awesome work dude, great video.

nothing is better than finding out a youtuber you thought left the platform was working on a 5 hour long giga-video

As a Swedish person, i must say: ABBA IS IMMORTAL, TIMELESS MUSIC AND FITS ANY OCCASION

This made me see North Korea in a whole new light. These are people, humans, they have emotions, passions, love, lives, They aren't robots. Kim maybe cruel, but the people aren't. The amount of dedication and effort put into this video is insane. Truly one of the greatest I have EVER seen.

I wanted to have this video on in the background while painting, but it was so interesting, I actually paid attention while watching the whole thing. Incredible work!

Kim Jung Il: Why doesn't anyone internationally like my movies? The movies: Oh boy, I sure am glad that Kim Il Sung saved us from the evil people in the rest of the world.

This is just my own theory, but I think a big part of the reason why early DPRK animation featured so many antisemetic tropes is because the animators were taught in Czechoslovakia. At the time antisemitism in the eastern block was still pretty common in the casual-racism sort of way, so I imagine the animators were taught to portray villains with anti Semitic tropes and just didn’t know / care how offensive it was. It doesn’t help that the Korean Peninsula never really had a massive Jewish presence so there wasn’t anyone to inform the animators of this offence

3 DAYS THREE DAYS , been listening to this at work and it was an amazing piece omg. thank god for youtube red downloads cuz there was no way id see this all in one day , amazing work normally id say keep it up but dude take like break will, make something 20 min for your next one 😭😭😭😭😭

i watched this whole video in one sitting while doing my makeup and painting my nails and never once was i bored or uninterested... it felt like a good 1 hour and some change documentary. it's kinda the best youtube video i've ever seen. thank you so much for this! it fed my hyperfixation a little too well

Thanks for having me on as a translator! This was a really fascinating topic for me, since I didn't get to learn a lot about NK growing up (even as a South Korean). Major kudos to you for working on this massive project :>

This is going straight into the "Hyperfixation long form videos" playlist

Crazy how this video is long as it is and I wish it was longer. I’ve never watched a video this long before but it went by incredibly quickly. That ending made me tear up as well. Thanks so much for the great video!

So glad I convinced myself to watch this. I hate long content like this most of the time but this was captivating the entire way theough. FOR FIVE HOURS. You’re incredible.

Being a director on the rocks and then kidnapped by a dictator and then told “Make some cool movies for me” must be something out of a bad dream. It sucks that it wasn’t

RU-vid video essays are getting so long, I swear in 2027 we're gonna have like a day long video from Paper Will. I'm not complaining I'm here for it

Well, first video I am watching from this channel... a 5.5 hour long one. And it's quite amazing. Just a couple brisk hours left to go. And wow, 18 months of prep. That is dedication.

No joke this video has been my favorite thing to look forward to listening to on my commutes from work, I can’t imagine how much time and effort this took, it really paid off this is phenomenal! I can’t believe we get to enjoy this for free?! Very juchae!!

It was a pleasure working with you Will. Glad to see this finally release!

It was a wonder working on this video. o7 to the team.

2024 has really been a year for long form content like this and I swear halfway thru I subscribed! You did such a good, thorough, job on this without it being boring. I learned SO much about Korean history from both sides that I never heard in my life. You did such a good job, thank you!

it took me two weeks to get through this whole thing but i'm glad we both stuck it out because i feel like i've learned more about north korea from this video than i have accumulatively over my entire life. this collated so much information that i would likely have never been able to find myself in such a palatable manner. the dedication, the time and the effort you've put into this is painfully obvious. what a wonderful introduction to your channel. i'm excited to go through your back catalogue to see what else you can teach me. shoutout to wendigoon who directed me here.

What really strikes me about North Korea's films is how even newer movies don't look new. They're still shooting on what appears to be film, can't tell if it's 16mm or the more expensive 35mm, and whatever surviving footage of them hasn't been remastered at all. Movies from the 60s look the same as ones from the early 2000's, from the fashion (period pieces aside) to the sets to their preservation. Very unique phenomenon, seeing cultural stagnation caught on film over the course of several decades.

I have been waiting for this to come out since Summer 2022, it is now spring 2024 and I feel lowkey emotional watching it now. Thank you for putting so much effort into this, paper will.

This is the first video of yours that I’ve watched. I was minutes in, and immediate shared it with my nephew. It was AMAZING. Incredibly well-written and educational. Not to mention funny! I’m so gonna watch everything here.

i love that you spent 18 wholeeee months watching north korean media, and it only wouldve taken about an hour to learn hangul to get the pronunciation right 😂 incredible work!!! i learned so much

This should qualify as a PhD dissertation

I love the ending with the North Korean kids learning rock music and even showing real smiles. Without the propaganda, these kids are still kids. They dream and want things like any other. Their is so much underlying potential within their restricted livelihood. It really makes you wish North Korean would be freed from this dictatorship and all the potential the people have flourishes and shines internationally. It's a pipe dream and unlikely will ever happen in this lifetime. But it's nice to see the small amounts of humanity that does exist.

Never had a 5 hour youtube doc keep me captivated the whole way through. Amazing work!

Absolutely loved this video! 😍 You have the heart of an investigative journalist and a narrative as passionate as David Attenborough's! Would love to see you so a video on entertainment in a similar hermit kingdom--Turkmenistan.

OH MY GOD ITS FINALLY OUT IM GONNA FINISH A WHOLE CROCHET PROJECT TO THIS edit: guysss i've been trying to reply to your comments but i think they keep getting shadowbanned im sorry :( its so awesome to hear about all the things youre making!! im so glad we can all bond over this, its super wholesome. i'm making a skirt for my upcoming graduation from fashion school :)

as someone who loves learning about a country’s history and also takes too long doing her gel nails, this was the perfect video for me

4:22:10 The basketball cult reality invasion skit is a god damn masterpiece and you shouldn't feel bad about it

Five hours video from a channel I've never heard of - and it turned out awesome, good stuff!

To be honest, I hope the AI thing doesn't come back. I like the tangents and so forth, and was hoping to hear them. Media is so intertwined with every other facet of society that they feed back into each other. So many of us understand North Korea so little, and I would have wanted to hear everything you found interesting.

This absolutely did not feel like 5 hours, I was so engaged the whole time. I really appreciate how you managed to highlight the reality of the average people’s lives rather than swinging entirely negative or naively positive. ❤

Always a treat when you post. Especially as a fellow expat in Japan (well ex-expat for me.) and this is sooo in-line with my special interests. I’ve watched this thing like four or five times now. Amazing work well worth the wait. ❤️❤️❤️ thank you for humanizing a population that so often gets lost in the conversation about all this.

despite making a video a year, you're my favourite youtube ever. i can't imagine the amount of effort and research that went into creating this video. plz don't ever stop making these

I’m 26 and not very old but I’ve got to say this is by far the best RU-vid video I’ve ever seen. No hyperbole, it’s funny, empathetic and informative. You hooked me for 5hrs of my day, which for me is uncommon I’m not huge into the long form video essay stuff. Bravo this was captivating and beautifully done

We're so back

This was seriously not just one of the best videos I've ever seen on this site but one of the most interesting things I've watched in general! Absolutely fascinating, thoughtful, entertaining and I learned a ton. I found myself watching it in little chunks because I didn't want it to end. Thanks so much for making this! (I also learned that someday I hope to be a basketball grandpa too) 😊

Great video, not often will I actually watch 5 hours on a video essay but it was genuinely fascinating and you were a delightfully entertaining narrator. Def worth a sub and a like for sure!

The kids who obviously loved playing music were so cute and the teens creating their own rock song was so moving. Obviously, there's so much going on in N. Korea but seeing these glimpses of real happiness there is moving.

Currently in awe of how much effort was put into putting all of the presented media into its historical context. Like I've legitimately learned a lot about Korean history from this

Okay I'm 3 hours in and this is the most educational, entertaining, and engaging documentary I've seen maybe ever? I'm learning a LOT and I'm marvelling at how gigantic your computer folders must be with all the individual clips of DPRC media clips you use. And they're used to great effect! Really entertaining content, a new favorite. Thank you 🙏

I found your channel two weeks ago. I have already watched this entire video 3 times. Fascinating work, i applaud your efforts. Your other videos are great too but this structuring was superior.

I should have cleaned my house today and should have done the laundry. I watched this instead and ordered pizza. What a great video. You are the hero we don't deserve.

As a Korean American I salute you for the dedication to watching DPRK media "entertainment." The Korean director who was kidnapped, I think escaped and defected to America...his 1st American movie was Surf Ninjas 😉🤙

This was an incredibly interesting watch. I'm glad all your hard work and time made it's way into my algorithm to show me this. Great work, friend. The revenge beep cut was.. *Chefs kiss*

Was so happy to see a new post from you!!! And by far was so worth the wait!!! Absolutely killed it with this latest video! Couldn't stop watch, the work and heart you put behind you work shows how much you love doing what your doing!! Please keep it up!! Can't wait for your next masterpiece! Ps. Release the 9 hour version of this video I can't get enough lol

Funky's really living out the plot of School of Rock in real life 😩 no joke it seems you accidentally stumbled upon one of the greatest moments in rock history. The fact that rock music prevails, even in the face of one of the most oppressive regimes in the world, is powerful to say the least. It speaks volumes for the genre and for music as a whole.

That ending with the high school kids learning how to rock (and absolutely slaying) made me emotional fr. I truly hope those kids manage to keep that

This was absolutely worth the wait, incredible video. Really hope you at least put together a YT playlist of the music you highlighted, I'd love to listen to it!

Freaking phenomenal! Would love to see the stuff you had to cut. The stuff you mentioned sounded so interesting! Love the work and kudos to those that helped.👏👏👏👏👏👏

IT CAME OUT!!!

PLEASE let this get to at least 1 million views, Paper Will deserves it

The story about Funky teaching music in North Korea sounds uncannily like a setup to a North Korean 'School of Rock' movie.

I went to school for Korean historical/cultural/sociological studies & graduated with my BA 10 years ago. Part of that degree was earned from Yonsei University in Seoul. This video has taught me more about North Korea than all of those courses combined. Thank you so much for all of the time & effort you put into this project. I have no idea how you managed to keep track of every piece of media & history, let alone present everything coherently & in order. Well done.🎉

5 PLUS HOURS PAPER WILL ??!?!! 🔥🔥🗣🗣💯we are pulling an ALL NIGHTER WITH THIS ONE BOYYSS

One through line that is so strong in all DPRK media is that the second you give a person freedom to create, they begin questioning the reality of the world they live in. And the harsher that world, the quicker and stronger the question (marks) come.

I've been watching this is in parts and it's been fantastic. Thanks Will and assistants for all your hard work.

Amazing video, wow! The amount of dedication and time this had to take, along with the information being detailed and actually fun to learn thanks to your humor and presentation. It didn't even feel like 5 hours ❤

It is 7 hours later, and I'm posting a second comment for engagement, cos I've no words to convey how enjoyable and informative this video it. Congratulations to ya, Will, for getting through the herculean task researching and making this video. Also, cheers for the unapologetically empathetic presentation of ordinary North Korean people. It's easy to understand on an intellectual level that the people trapped within the borders of the hermit kingdom are no different than you and I, but this video manages to make that feeling at points heartbreakingly visceral. Just god-tier storytelling.

Sorry I can't do larger superchats, but the surprise release caught me off guard. It's been an honor helping you through your content creation journey, and I'm so excited to see the culmination of it all.

I know that this will get buried, but youtube randomly recommended this video to me recently, and i watched it over the past two days. It's *extremely* good. Your storytelling, delivery, the contents of the video - entertaining, bingeable, i even learned a lot... peak. You got a new subscriber :) The only nitpick i have were the interrupted tangents. I'd actually love to hear you go off topic when you started with them. But i also understand the desire to keep it consise.

Watching (mostly in the background) the totality of this video while passing some exams was a delight. Thanks for this gem of a video mate.

This is genuinely insane timing considering that one of the trending audios on tiktok right now is a North Korean banger of a propaganda song

I'm very ashamed to say I forgot you and what you were doing. I almost never do anything with any video over 30 minutes, but this one has made me dedicate my entire evening to this

Never have i ever watched an entire *more than 2 hour long* RU-vid video without falling asleep but this video kept me so interested and taught me a lot. LOVE THIS

I binged this in one day and oh my god this was amazing. Truly respect all the effort you put in this!

The length alone speaks to just how much research and time has gone into this

Man, that is some phenomenal work! The research, subtle visual jokes based entirely on Korean footages, the deliberate choice of context to highlight. This clearly transcends every bar set by the platform and the medium. You have accomplished academia-worthy colossal classification and probably paved the road for hundreds of researchers to come. That is something to be remembered for. Legend.

THIS WAS AN AMAZING VIDEO!! So much work put into this thank you for making it!

Jeez. 5 hours!? Thanks for the content overload Will ❤

I watch an embarrassing amount of RU-vid and I can confidently say this might be one of the top 10 original RU-vid videos ever uploaded, I’ve never seen or learned from a more watchable 5 and a half hour video

The fact that I've fallen back into a hyperfixation of the DPRK in the last few days, this video is a godsend and major coincidence. You've gone above and beyond with this piece of work, and earned a new subscriber. Now to go back and watch your other videos!

Dude why the hell have I not found you till now? I've been binge watching all your stuff the last 2 days I'm on the cult vid rn. You sir were able to hold my attention for 5 solid hours on North freaking Korea movies and television. That sais something. Keep it up man

This is the most lengthy YT vid I've watched before Wendigoon. First of your's I've seen also. I dig it man.

The buttons do harmonic relatives to the notes you hit on the keyboard. So you hit an A on the key side, and the minor 3rd button on the button side, you'll get an A, C, E chord Sure, in that case, you could just play an A minor, but with 1 hand, a lot of chords are out of reach. Plus, it's not like a full 88 keys. By the buttons doing relatives instead of absolutes, you can easily hit way more notes. It's probably more complex than that, I've never played a full accordion, just little ones, but that's what I figured out just by playing it

I couldn't sleep at all last night, and ended up at the gym at 6am. Then the computer lab at 7:30am. Now my dorm, with laundry running and nothing to keep me awake- or so I thought! Time to watch this to help keep me awake for the day! Thank you! Edit: I'd like everyone to know my goals for today are to watch all of Paper Will's videos, do all my laundry, re-match my socks, and drink 96 oz water. Wish me luck soldiers.

This was so worth the wait. I've learnt so much and was thoroughly entertained throughout. Top work!

This is genuinely one of the best videos on this entire site, thank you for this

Whats wild to me is how your videos sound like one long conversation, without any cuts. That keeps me engaged for hours

I LOVE ACCORDIONS!!!! The 120 buttons are for chords 20 columns of 6 rows First row is the major third Second row is the root note Third is the major triad of the root Fourth is minor triad Fifth is the 7th dominant Sixth is the 7th diminished

Bam! I finally finished it. Took me three days of pausing and going but I got through it and enjoyed it. May I suggest that it be cut into smaller parts and re-released as a series?

Yoooo! I’ve been waiting for another post from you for ages! Sad to see I’m a month late, but congrats on finishing this one!

omg a 5h video?! this was definitely was worth the LONG wait

Love that you're back and digging the short vids. My attention span can only handle so much

Nice work Will. We enjoyed it!