Welcome to North Korea!

A tourist’s-eye view inside the world’s most controlled country

Welcome to North Korea! follows twenty seven Czech tourists who each pay roughly 2,600 euros for a tightly organised sightseeing trip to one of the most isolated countries in the world. Travelling under strict supervision, with mobile phones prohibited and movements constantly monitored, the group arrives in Pyongyang and begins a guided tour designed to showcase the official image of the state. Director Linda Jablonská joins the trip posing as a tourist, discreetly filming the journey from within.

From the minimalist airport to the carefully curated streets of the capital, the tourists document their surroundings using video cameras, creating a collective and fragmented record of what they are allowed to see. The group visits monumental landmarks, the world’s largest unfinished hotel, a nightclub, a children’s theatre performance, and experiences the programming of the country’s single official television channel. Throughout the trip, propaganda is omnipresent, from empty multi lane highways cleared for their passage to ceremonial rituals centred on the cult of the leader.

As the journey progresses, the film increasingly focuses on the tourists’ reactions. Coming from a country with a Soviet past, many participants filter what they see through their own memories of life under Communism. Moments of discomfort accumulate, particularly when they are instructed to bow before statues of Kim Jong Il or confronted with the contrast between lavish meals and visible signs of deprivation nearby. Unable to speak freely with ordinary citizens and constantly aware of surveillance, the group grapples with ethical doubts about their role as visitors. Through this restrained but revealing perspective, the documentary exposes the mechanics of control while capturing the unease of witnessing a carefully staged reality.