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Viewers were fascinated by Michael Palin’s North Korea documentary

Viewers were fascinated by Michael Palin’s North Korea documentary

But what didn’t we see in the secretive country?

Huw Fullerton

Published: Friday, 21 September 2018 at 9:17 am

Last night saw a real TV first when veteran travel broadcaster (and former Monty Python member) Michael Palin travelled to North Korea for a new Channel 5 documentary, his first time in the self-sealed state and a rare chance for viewers to see what life is like in the country.

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And it’s fair to say that viewers were pretty excited to see Palin back in travel mode.

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In this first episode Palin went to the country’s capital, Pyongyang, where the streets are serenaded by propaganda songs. During his time there, he visits statues of former leaders Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-il that are said to live on today and even pops into a North Korean school, where he throws a globe around with some children to see how much of the world they know about while one child recites a patriotic poem.

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And while there are serious questions asked about the country, Palin joining in the dancing during a mass May Day celebration captured the imagination of many viewers.

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Of course, Palin was aware that he was being presented with quite a sanitised view of the country – and it’s a fact that wasn’t left on people watching at home.

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But overall, people were still impressed at the groundbreaking film and all it represented – to the point that there was an extreme overkill of people saying “fascinating” on Twitter….

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Michael Palin in North Korea continues on Channel 5 next Thursday at 9pm

Authors

Radio Times commissioning editor Huw Fullerton. He sits in front of a shelving unit, looking at the camera and smiling. He wears glasses and has a moustache

Huw FullertonCommissioning editor

Huw Fullerton is a commissioning editor for Radio Times magazine handling comedy, entertainment and specialist drama. In a previous regeneration, he covered all things sci-fi and fantasy for RadioTimes.com.

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