North Korea's Craziest Laws: video worksheets, differentiated.

Please ensure you can access the video before you get this resource. I use this film to discuss the importance of reliable sources. The film showcases twenty laws. Given the difficulty of attesting them, the film clearly flags up instances where there is substantial doubt. In lessons I compare this film’s sources (i.e. none) with those of, e.g. “The Great War” channel (fully listed sources) and ask students to consider why there are no or few sources for films about North Korea. I then go on to type “North Korea” into the fact-checking site Snopes dot com, where a variety of current topics will be described as “not proven” – almost always for lack of evidence.

The laws discussed in the film are: capital punishment for public figures falling asleep on duty; bicycles banned, women banned from riding bikes; jeans banned; trousers (except for work) banned for women; 28 state-approved hairstyles; Kim Jong-Un banned as a name except or the leader, Kim Ju-ae also banned except for his daughter; an international call can warrant a death sentence; sale or rent of homes illegal, black-market trading of the ipsajung; smiling on July 8th banned every year.; North Korean intranet – Kwangmyong; jobs for life, without retirement, imposed by the state; no freedom of religion, fake state-run churches for show; triplets taken from families for the first four years of life; kin punishment, the three-generation sentence; the Juche calendar; families must clean their portraits of the leaders with a special duster; state-owned TV and possible 2021 execution of man found to be watching Squid Games; few or no international brands, Samtaesong burgers, luxury western goods available for political elite in the Daesong Department Store; a mother jailed for rescuing her children from a house-fire but not rescuing the leaders’ portraits; Kim Jong-Il changed the rules of basketball.

Find the film by searching YouTube’s BE AMAZED channel for “North Korea’s CRAZIEST Laws”.

17 questions for the 28-min film. Differentiated! Both versions look very similar, but “B” version has subtle clues. Excellent subtitles: scripted, not auto-generated. Answer sheet. Very easy to mark. .doc & .pdf for all files. Link to video on all sheets.