[EVENT] Chollimawood, Again

##Chollimawood, Again

Secretary and Deputy Director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department, Hyon Song-wol

June 1, 2027

Modern Film Remakes: Flower Girl, and Runaway!

With the introduction of Chinese film talents, and equipment as a stop gap while the future of North Korean talent learns their skills in China and Russia, 2027 saw the first new film releases. But to demonstrate their capabilities with the new support, the Korean Art Film Studio and the Mansudae Art Studio decided to play it safe with the Propaganda and Agitation Department and re-released two North Korean "greatest hit" films. The first, was a modern remake with modern equipment, effects, and guidance of Kim Il Sung's original The Flower Girl. The plot was not changed, neither were the lines, preserving this classic for future generations to enjoy. The main character, Kkot-bun, was played by Merited Artist Kim Yu-kyong. The same was also true of the remake of Runaway, another North Korean classic. Production started on both in mid-2026, and editing will be finished in August 2027. They should be in North Korean theatres in October 2027, and possibly viewable in Chinese and Russian theatres too.

Have we made it?

There were two major television shows produced by Korean Art Film Studio, Korean Central Television, and Mansudae Television that aired in 2027. The first was "Have We Made It?", an original production. The show was twenty episodes in length and the plot was about three high-school graduate women that were accepted into Kim Il-Sung University and were able to move from their small town, Sachang-ni, to the big city of Pyongyang for university. The show itself is a drama that explores the dreams of small-town folk moving to the "big city" Pyongyang for work, study, and life. During the show, it explores university and love life drama, as well as city life in Pyongyang, capturing some of the greatest shots of the most memorable places in Pyongyang, such as Mirae Scientists Street, and within the Kim Il-Sung University itself. Because it was filmed on site, the show captured the imagination of many in North Korea, but also put a progressive spin on male-female culture and relations in the country. Ultimately, the series ends with the three women moving into an apartment together in Pyongyang, while one becomes a low-level administrative worker in the Ministry of Agriculture, one becomes a nurse at Pyongyang No. 1 Hospital, and the last one becomes a traffic officer. The last episode alludes to future seasons.

Good Morning, Mr. Ri!

The second show was destined to be a cult-classic from the first time it aired, "Good Morning, Mr. Ri!", which got thirty episodes. This show takes place in Kangso County, where Mr. Ri was recently assigned after his "promotion" in the Ministry of Social Security to be the Kangso County Policeman. In reality, it was actually a demotion when he was surpassed by an ambitious colleague at their precinct in Pyongyang, and that colleague, newly empowered, relegated Mr. Ri to a rural post. Mr. Ri, himself from Pyongyang, struggles to adapt to the rural life of Kangso County. He finds the people scheming, hostile, and generally wary of "cityfolk". But Mr. Ri is determined to make a name for himself so that he might one day return to Pyongyang, and works diligently to assist the people of Kangso County. He consistently thwarts the schemes of two town "bad boys," and eventually wins the hearts and minds of Kangso County. Throughout the show he chips away at the ego of the two schemers before successfully reforming them into constructive members of society. "Good Morning, Mr. Ri!," was written to be a heartfelt comedy and inspiring. The last episode ends with Mr. Ri rejecting a commission to lead a new precinct in Pyongyang, after receiving a meritorious commendation for his work in Kangso County, and instead settles down in Kangso County, his new home.