Sociology | Wiley | Inside North Korea Documentary, D___
Name:
Background: In 2007, National Geographic's Lisa Ling captured a rare look inside North
Korea—something few Americans have been able to do. Posing as an undercover medical
coordinator and closely guarded throughout her trip, Ling moves inside the most isolated
nation in the world, encountering a totalitarian society completely dominated by government
and dictatorship, indoctrination and fear.
At the time “Inside North Korea” was recorded, Kim Jong Il was the leader of North Korea. As
of late 2011, his son, Kim Jong Un, has been the head of the North Korean government. He is
the third leader of North Korea since the country was founded in 1948. His grandfather,
Kim Il Sung, led North Korea from 1948-1994, while his father, Kim Jong Il, ruled from
Kim Il Sung
1994-2011.
(leader from ’48-’94)
According to most visitors to the country since late 2011, North Korea has largely remained
as it was in 2007, when this documentary was made.
Connections to Sociology:
 Sociologists are concerned with the following questions: To what extent does one’s
society/culture dictate their actions, behavior, and personality? How do certain
structures, environments, institutions, and organizations play a role in our decisionmaking process and attitudes? This film provides us with a prime opportunity to see
(quite clearly!) the profound power society can exert on individuals.
 Sociologists are also concerned with the process of socialization, which entails
learning to become a member of one’s social world and being conditioned (taught,
both directly and indirectly) to play certain roles. It ensures that culture is passed
from one generation to the next. We’ll have several opportunities in the film to see
socialization in action, particularly with young children in North Korean society.
 Sociologists often say that our own society and culture guides our understanding of
reality—thus, any perception of reality is just subjective to our own culture’s attitudes,
beliefs, and biases. In this film, we’ll see that many North Koreans see a very different
reality when they look at the outside world, and America more specifically. The film
allows us to see how easily people’s perceptions of reality can be controlled, and forces
us to wonder if our own perceptions of reality are as accurate as we like to believe.
Viewing Questions:
Kim Jong Il
(leader from ’94-’11)
Kim Jong Un
(leader from ’11-present)
1) Throughout the film, Lisa Ling will discuss the many characteristics that define North Korea in the 21st century. Add
some of this miscellaneous commentary in the space provided here:
2) How large (and potentially dangerous) is North Korea’s army?
3) How is the “Dear Leader” regarded in North Korea?
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4) Who is Dr. Ruit?
5) How are Americans regarded in North Korea?
6) Describe the Dutch propaganda film that was made about North Korea:
7) Explain what happened to Korea after the Second World War (WWII: 1939-’45; Korean War: 1950-’53).
8) Explain what the 38th parallel represents today. What is interesting about how the North Koreans stand at the
border?
9) What is the DMZ?
10) What is the “humanitarian nightmare” that Lisa Ling speaks about? (For example: How are North Korean boys
different than their “brothers” in South Korea?)
11) Explain some of the things that Lisa Ling learns when she visits a “real” North Korean home.
12) What does the Juche philosophy entail?
13) What does the “Dear Leader” use to strike fear into the hearts of the people? What do we know about Camp #22
from the North Korean defector?
14) What are the possible escape options for North Koreans? What obstacles confront defectors (or potential
defectors)?
15) What is interesting about how the former blind patients react to their new eyesight?
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Post-Viewing Questions:
16) Lisa Ling asked herself the following question: Which people had genuine faith and which were acting out of fear?
How would you answer her question?
17) What did you learn about North Korean culture from this film? Try to touch on as many of the components
mentioned in the visual below. (Draw lines from the components to the margins and record notes.)
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18) Do you think it is ethnocentric (see definition below) to be critical of North Korean culture? Or would you adopt a
culturally relativist approach (see definition below) or some other approach? Explain in the space below.
Ethnocentrism is the tendency for people to judge other cultures according to their own cultural standards. It usually
implies thinking one’s culture is superior to other cultures.
Cultural Relativism is the view that no culture is superior to any other culture when comparing systems of morality,
law, politics, etc. It's the philosophical notion that all cultural beliefs are equally valid and that truth itself is relative,
depending on the cultural environment.
19) Flip to page one and review the “Connections to Sociology” section. Discuss what you learned from the video about
one of those sociological connections.
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