Kim Jong Whoops!

Rarely ever do we get a look at a the inner workings of a Communist Regime. Under Stalin, the Soviet Union starved millions of their citizens to death, unbeknownst to the world until long after the fact. In China, countless crimes against humanity happen on a daily basis, dodging the global community's awareness. North Korea is another such nation of which we know little about concerning the daily life of the average peasant. Well, in the 1980's because of the revival of the Godzilla franchise in Japan, we now have an artistic portrayal of what, at least, some civilians think of their benevolent communist overlords.

In 1984, The Return of  Godzilla was released in Japan. It breathed new life into the famed Godzilla franchise that had been absent from the big screen for a full decade. It featured updated special effects, a more realistic plot, and a socially/politically relevant message for the people who watched it. The movie was received with mixed reviews, but it ultimately inspired one unlikely...fan. Namely, the North Korean dictator (in training at the time) Kim Jong Il.

Kim Jong Il was wowed so much by this update to the Godzilla franchise that he wanted to create a Godzilla for his own country. Being a dictator, he ordered the creation of this movie. Also being a dictator, he kidnapped the appropriate personnel he would need to bring this dream to life. What would result would be a North Korea's version of a Godzilla, known as Pulgasari.

Now, Pulgasari is a typical cheesy B-movie. The special effects are totally ho-hum, the plot is questionable, but the message within the movie reflects the totalitarian North Korean government. It portrayed peasants who lived lives of constant labor, hoping that their hard work would relieve them of the mental anguish that their demanding overlords placed upon them. Certain individual within the peasant ranks began to collaborate with one another and form an underground resistance. The regime catches wind of this and becomes increasingly oppressive to crush any future uprising, leading to the peasants creating Pulgasari. Pulgasari is a Godzilla-like monster who eats iron and is bent towards aiding the peasants topple the king and his forces. Ultimately, the resistance is a success, but Pulgasari becomes a threat to the people he saved. This leads to a plot to destroy the one who saved them before he becomes too powerful for them to stop.

Apparently, Il was pretty dense, as he didn't pick up on the anti-oppressive government themes. In fact, he hailed Pulgasari as a masterpiece! That is, until the director escaped North Korea and shared his story with the world. The director revealed that he had to pretend to love communism despite the evils he witnessed in North Korea. Before Pulgasari, he was forced to create multiple Korean propaganda films, but he credited his monster movie masterpiece for his deliverance from the evil communist dictatorship. Since then, his films have been banned and he's been labeled a traitor.