Film makers Suzy Son, left, and Sarah Lee say the real North Korea is not what western media portrays it to be. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Film makers Suzy Son, left, and Sarah Lee say the real North Korea is not what western media portrays it to be. Photo / Jason Oxenham
After two visits before North Korea sealed its borders to try to insulate itself from the Covid-19 pandemic, one Korean-New Zealander is determined to show that life there is "pretty normal".
Sarah Lee, 32, visited the North Korean port city of Rason in 2018 and then the capital Pyongyang ayear later - which made her decide to get involved in the production of a documentary on the "real North Koreans".
"When we think of North Korea, we only think of nuclear weapons, starvation, human rights breaches, but that is only what western media has led us to think," Lee said.
Sarah Lee (right) says she was surprised to see how 'normal' life was in North Korea. Photo / Supplied
"I think many will be shocked, just like I was when I went to North Korea, that life is pretty normal."
Lee said her two visits, each lasting about a week, had given her invaluable insights into how North Korean residents live, work and relax.
The documentary "Insight: Into North Koreans", co-directed by Lee and another Korean-Kiwi Inah Kim who had also travelled with her to North Korea, aims to show the "human side" of the country that is widely seen as highly regimented and militaristic.
"I am a New Zealand resident and Ina holds a New Zealand passport, so we were both allowed to go freely into North Korea," Lee said.
Korean New Zealanders Ina Kim and Sarah Lee in North Korea. Photo / Supplied.
"When I first thing I said to the people of the North was 'I really missed you'. I haven't seen them before but they just feel like family, and I cried a lot when I was there."
Lee felt the sanctions imposed on North Korea had done more harm than good, and hoped that the documentary would play a part in finding other ways to resolve political differences.
Her first trip there was made as part of a social charity group Reconnect and the second was with a New Zealand business group.
Korean New Zealanders Ina Kim and Sarah Lee hope the documentary they co-produced will shed light on the 'human side' of North Koreans. Photo / Supplied
"At the time, we never thought of doing this documentary but we took a lot of videos and uploaded them on YouTube," Lee said.
"Before I went there I had a perception of North Korea that it was really dark, gloomy and it's all about politics and that's not true at all."
Lee said she was surprised to see people could move freely around, dine out and most even had smartphones - albeit with no access to internet but just the country's internal network.
NZ-born Suzy Son, left, is the editor of the documentary co-produced by Sarah Lee. Photo / Jason Oxenham
"I could talk to the locals because we speak the same language, and they were really warm people," Lee said.
"We decided to do the documentary only after the second trip because we wanted to show that North Korea is not what it is being portrayed by the media.
"The people we met are at odds with how North Koreans are stereotyped as having been brainwashed."
As few have been out of the country, questions that Lee were often asked included how life was like in the South - but most were just curious about her family background and if they had any ties with the North.
Despite heavy sanctions, Pyongyang has a growing number of consumer class.
"North Koreans are determined to get on with their lives, but I guess they are happy because they don't know any better," she said.
"However, I feel they deserve better and I hope our documentary will in a small way help them get there."
The documentary is a project of Reconnect, and will focus on people who have built friendships with North Koreans including Roger Shepherd, a Kiwi specialist in hiking in North Korea.
"By looking at what these people have achieved, we hope to show there is a better way," Lee added.
A free screening will run this Saturday, July 2, at the Academy Cinema, at 3pm.
