It’s pretty hard to keep up with all the new books and documentaries coming out about North Korea. More and more information is available all the time, despite what mainstream news outlets tell you. More defector testimonies, new Instagram accounts, documentaries in development… I hear about new things all the time, but there aren’t enough hours in the day to keep up with them all.

This is a list for my own sake, just to keep track of media I need to track down when I’ve got the time. I’ll add to them as I come across new titles and such.

Books

• Behind the Curtain, Mark Fahey. When this is released, it will show an immersive North Korean experience, as Fahey surreptitiously recorded life in the DPRK with tech he smuggled in. This document will also stretch the definition of “book.”
• North Korea Confidential, Daniel Tudor, James Pearson. Covers the evolution of domestic life in North Korea as it changes with exposure to int’l trade, NGOs, etc.
• A Mark of Red Honor, Jang Yeong-jin. Defector’s autobiography of trying to understand his homosexuality within a nation that denies and outlaws it.

Documentaries

• The Lovers and the Despot, about how Kim Jong Il kidnapped South Korean film director Shin Sang-ok and actress Choi Eun-hee to make better films in the DPRK.

And here are some Instagram accounts, related to North Korea, that I’ve only recently discovered.

• Jaka Parker, an Indonesian living in Pyongyang
• Krahun Co., foreign-owned trade and tourism company in NK
• Wong Maye-E, photographer for AP in Singapore