Inside North Korea: Rare Footage of Daily Life in the DPRK (1995)

On 3 May 1995, ITN’s cameras were given a rare opportunity to enter the hermit state of North Korea, officially named the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Having historically closed itself off to the world, in the mid-90s a number of factors including the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union (North Korea’s primary source of economic support) and the 1994 death of national founder and ’Great Leader’ Kim Il Sung led North Korea to reach out to the world. This coincided with South Korea’s implementation of a ’Sunshine Policy’ of cooperation and reengagement with its northern neighbour as well as international efforts to bring North Korea into the world community, primarily through sports. Days before this footage was captured, World Championship Wrestling produced Collision in Korea, also known as the Pyongyang International Sports and Culture Festival for Peace. The professional wrestling pay-per-view event took place on 28 and 29 April 1995 at Pyongyang’s May Day S