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These seven North Korean films, spanning 1972 to 2006, pair political messaging with stories about football, a metal-eating monster, folk heroes, everyday work and romance. Scroll.in’s 2016 guide presents them as an introduction to North Korean cinema, where propaganda is a recurring frame but not the only source of interest.
What to know about this film list
The films below were selected by Sayantan Mondal in a Scroll.in article published August 28, 2016. Its descriptions and historical claims are attributed to that article; they have not been independently verified here. The titles range from state-aligned drama to martial arts and monster cinema, offering different ways into the stories and themes associated with North Korean filmmaking.
Scroll.in describes North Korean films as propaganda-oriented and made mainly for domestic audiences. It also says they can be difficult to obtain. Its mention of films appearing on YouTube reflects the situation described in 2016, not verified current availability.
Seven films to explore
The Flower Girl (1972)
Scroll.in calls this one of North Korea’s most successful propagandist films. Its heroine struggles under Japanese occupation, and the article says Kim Il-sung wrote the story. The historical setting and political framing make it a starting point for seeing how the country’s cinema connects personal suffering with national narratives.
Centre Forward (1978)
Cha In-son faces personal and professional obstacles as he tries to become a better footballer. The article presents the film as inspirational while noting its propaganda character. Its sports-drama premise makes it a more familiar genre entry than the historical epics elsewhere on the list.
Pulgasari (1985)
A blacksmith’s rice doll comes to life as a monster that eats metal and turns against an oppressive king. Scroll.in describes the film as influenced by Japanese kaiju cinema and says it was the best-known of the films South Korean director Shin Sang-ok made during his abduction period. The article also reports that technicians from Japan’s Toho studio assisted the production.
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That combination—monster spectacle, an oppressive ruler and an unusual production history—makes Pulgasari the list’s clearest genre hook. Scroll.in reports that Kim Jong-il was interested in cinema and wanted to create a version of Hollywood in North Korea. It also says Shin and his wife were kidnapped in 1978 and forced to make seven films for the regime; those claims remain attributed to the 2016 article here.
Hong Kil Dong (1986)
This film adapts a folk legend. Its hero, trained in kung fu, is compared by Scroll.in to Robin Hood: he fights oppression in a story shaped around a familiar folk-hero appeal.
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A Traffic Controller on Crossroads (1986)
Centered on a traffic controller, the film highlights gender equality and the dignity of labor, according to the article. Rather than a monster or martial-arts adventure, it offers a view of everyday social life as framed by the film’s themes.
Urban Girl Comes to Get Married (1993)
A city fashion designer falls for a duck farmer in a village. Scroll.in reads the romance as a representation of the urban-rural gap, making the relationship a way to explore differences between city and village life.
Pyongyang Nalpharam (2006)
Set during Japanese occupation, this martial-arts story follows a hero who fights the occupiers while protecting a kung fu manual, as described by Scroll.in. It extends the list’s recurring interest in resistance narratives through a genre built around combat and action.
How the films differ
| Film | Genre or story focus | Setting or central frame |
|---|---|---|
| The Flower Girl (1972) | Political drama | Japanese occupation; a heroine’s struggles |
| Centre Forward (1978) | Sports drama | A footballer’s personal and professional challenges |
| Pulgasari (1985) | Monster film | A metal-eating creature challenges an oppressive king |
| Hong Kil Dong (1986) | Folk-hero martial arts | A kung-fu-trained hero fights oppression |
| A Traffic Controller on Crossroads (1986) | Social drama | Work, gender equality and everyday life |
| Urban Girl Comes to Get Married (1993) | Romance | A city designer and a village duck farmer |
| Pyongyang Nalpharam (2006) | Martial arts | Japanese occupation; resistance and protection of a kung fu manual |
A brief historical frame
Scroll.in identifies My Home Village (1949), made with assistance from the erstwhile USSR, as North Korea’s first film. Its article also situates the seven selections within Kim Jong-il’s interest in cinema and the ambition to build a North Korean version of Hollywood. These historical points are reported by Scroll.in and are not independently established here.
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Finding the films
The 2016 article says North Korean films can be hard to obtain and notes that some had appeared on YouTube. That is not a current catalogue or confirmation that any of these seven titles can be watched there today. Check a legitimate film archive, library catalogue or licensed streaming service for present-day access; availability may vary by country and change over time.
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