North Korea Propaganda Footage Smuggled Out of Hermit State by Travel Blogger

North Korea Propaganda Footage Smuggled Out of Hermit State by Travel Blogger

One travel blogger has given a unique insight into the propaganda of the notoriously secretive Democratic People’s Republic of Korea amid escalating tensions with the US. The Hermit State is well known for closely monitoring what tourists snap and video while visiting but Antoine Tardif secretly recorded English footage at the war museum detailing an achievement against the US navy in the 60’s before smuggling the video out and making it available to view.

Acting as the centrepiece at North Korea’s war museum is the USS Pueblo, a US Navy Intelligence Vessel that was captured by North Korean forces in 1968. The achievement and resulting propaganda story is showcased in the footage captured by Tardif. Showing verbal and written confessions of the captured crew members, the video paints a triumphant picture from the perspective of North Korea. Tardif also revealed that Americans travelling to North Korea aren’t shown the same footage.

Tardif, Travel Blogger at Traveling Life, said “Visiting North Korea was fascinating and gave me just a glimpse of how brainwashed the people of this country are. Any attempt to suggest that the materials show just one side of history is met with anger, frustration and disbelief. I decided to record the English propaganda video so that other people could get a glimpse inside the infamous nation too, it was reckless given the potential consequences if I had been caught but it was worth it to be able to share the information.”

On returning home, Tardif made the video viewable to the public. At five minutes long, the footage shows around a quarter of the full video after the travel blogger was forced to turn off his discreet filming when a solider approached. The war museum in North Korea is designed to showcase the strength and success of the country’s forces, with a huge number of statues depicting victories and tanks, planes, and weapons that have been confiscated from American forces.

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The footage taken in North Korea can be viewed here: youtube.com/watch?time_continue=100&v=fB2OlBUeiK4