A documentary titled Explorer: Inside North Korea produced by the National Geographic Channel provides a unique view into the life of the most reclusive society on earth –North Korea. The country also has the world’s fourth-largest army and probably the most protected border in the world. North Korea is ruled by a dictator who exposes his citizens to unimaginable horrors and demands that they refer to him as Dear Leader.
The documentary has been produced by the National Geographic Channel crew headed by an American reporter Lisa Ling. In order to get a glimpse of the totalitarian country and its totalitarian political culture, the crew pretends to film the work of a famous eye surgeon from Nepal—Dr.Ruit. The surgeon has a noble goal of treating patients who suffer from the debilitating disease of cataracts. Even though it is a common illness that is easily treated by a simple surgical procedure in the West, developing countries are not able to create the conditions necessary for timely examination and treatment of the disease. Dr. Ruit has been granted permission by the government of North Korea to arrive in the country with a humanitarian mission of treating more than one thousand blind patients.
Upon arrival in the totalitarian state, the crew discovers that the country vehemently opposes technical advancements from the outside. However, the rejection of modern technology is not a single peculiarity of North Korea. With the help of hidden cameras, the crew is able to film the hysteria and almost religious fervor surrounding the communist leader of North Korea—Kim Jong Il. He is not entirely different from other famous dictators: while the country is mired in poverty, he enjoys religious reverence that comes with materialistic perks of luxury. The crew discovers that nobody is allowed to lie on the ground in front of a statue of the leader’s father Kim Il Sung, who was also considered a godlike figure. It becomes clear that even a minor perception of a transgression against the leader of North Korea could lead to hauntingly tragic events such as imprisonment in one of the numerous concentration camps or even execution by firing squad. One of the operators of the National Geographic Channel crew discovers a park bench protected by an impregnable case. He is being explained by a guide that the bench has to be preserved because Kim Il Sung once sat on it.
Dr. Ruit has to perform more than a hundred surgeries per day in order to achieve his objective to remove cloudy lenses from the eyes of old people and children of North Korea. Perhaps, the most striking part of the documentary is its finale. When the doctor’s patients uncover their bandaged eyes and discover in amazement that they have been cured of the horrible disease of cataract, they immediately proceed to praise their totalitarian leader. In the pandemonium of happiness that follows, they take photos with pictures of Kim Jong Il, and nobody even thinks about thanking Dr. Ruit for returning them their eyesight. The crew observes in amazement how officially atheistic people engage in almost religious worship of their leader. An old Korean lady yells that she is so thankful to Kim Jong Il for treating her blindness that she promises to work even harder in salt mines for the glory of their nation.