North Korea, which criticized the US... Teaching English with 'Disney's Frozen'?

Fostering Anti-American Hostility... Conversation Education with 'Disney'
Law Against North Korean Reactionary Ideology and Culture... Execution for Contact with Foreign Items
Allowing Mainly Children's Content with Less Ideological Risk

North Korea, which has consistently fostered hostility toward the American imperialists (美帝·Miguk Imperialism), has been found to teach English using American Disney animations in schools. This stands in stark contrast to North Korea’s policy of strictly guarding against and cracking down on the influx of Western ideology and culture, drawing significant attention.

According to NK News, a U.S.-based North Korea specialist media outlet, a scene was captured last week on North Korea’s Korean Central TV documentary showing teenage students watching Disney animations in a classroom at Segori Elementary and Middle School, an elite school located in Pyongyang. The video in question was Disney’s 2013 blockbuster Frozen, with North Korean students watching the film with Korean subtitles.

Animation Frozen
Photo by Walt Disney Korea

At that time, the classroom blackboard displayed the famous line from Frozen, "Do you wanna build a snowman?" and the documentary explained that the English teaching method was changed under the encouragement of Chairman Kim Jong Un. A North Korean female teacher who taught English using Frozen said, "After shifting the lessons from grammar-centered to conversation-centered, students became more interested in the classes."

Segori Elementary and Middle School is known as an elite school attended by children of North Korean high-ranking officials. However, based solely on the documentary’s content showing the use of an American film as a teaching aid in a controlled school environment, the general assessment is that it is difficult to conclude that North Korea has relaxed its restrictions on foreign culture. It appears that the content was edited after censorship or that only certain scenes were permitted for educational purposes.

North Korea has previously allowed Disney content. The common factor is that these are 'children’s contents' with relatively low ideological risk. Earlier this year, North Korean state media captured scenes of a children’s hospital corridor decorated with illustrations from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and in 2012, dancers dressed as 'Mickey Mouse' and 'Winnie the Pooh' appeared in a Moranbong Band performance. Additionally, last year a children’s picture book imitating the Dutch character 'Miffy' was published, and in 2016, DVDs such as Finding Nemo and Beauty and the Beast were spotted being sold at market stalls operated by the authorities.

Mickey Mouse appeared in the Pyongyang Moranbong Band performance. / Photo by Chosun Central TV

A child carrying a Mickey Mouse bag in downtown Pyongyang
[Photo by Yonhap News]

However, North Korean residents still face severe punishment if they independently access foreign films, broadcasts, music, and the like. According to the Anti-Reactionary Thought and Culture Exclusion Law enacted in 2020, watching foreign media without state approval can result in execution or life imprisonment. For example, in October last year, news emerged that two teenagers were publicly executed for watching and distributing South Korean movies and dramas.

The British daily The Times reported testimony from defectors that an organization called 'Gruppa' operates in North Korea to monitor foreign influences such as films, TV viewing, and hairstyles. 'Gruppa' is the North Korean pronunciation of the English word 'group,' and here it refers to a kind of 'enforcement agent.' The most frequently monitored content by Gruppa is South Korean music, TV, and films, but recently, with the spread of memory cards, secretly sharing such content has become easier.

A defector from the North Korean military told Asia Economy in a phone interview, "It was none other than Kim Jong Un who introduced Mickey Mouse into the Moranbong Band performance and said, 'We must boldly accept good things from other countries and make them our own.' He is the primary promoter of foreign influence while simultaneously enforcing an oppressive terror policy threatening execution for watching unauthorized external videos. The residents are also very dissatisfied," he pointed out.