The North Korean YouTube List

It’s easier than ever to watch the latest video from North Korea thanks to a handful of YouTube channels that have sprung up in the last few years.

Here’s a list of some of the best North Korea-focused channels that I’ve found on YouTube, organized by their start date.

The views, subscriber numbers and video count are given as of March 9, 2013, and are intended to indicate their popularity.

Much of the fresh video comes from one of two sources: the KCNA state news agency or KCTV state television.

Channel Name YouTube user Date started Views Videos Subscribers Description
DPRK Music ANStasyuk 1-Dec-10 11,722,793 286 1,629 North Korean music, including clips from state TV
DPR of Korea Official rodrigorojo1 26-Sep-07 7,599,004 2,612 4,764 Supposed official channel. TV clips, travel video, music
StimmeKoreas stimmekoreas 22-Jul-10 5,473,269 1,532 4,878 Assorted video, including state TV clips
Uriminzokkiri uriminzokkiri 14-Jul-10 4,959,350 5,695 6,107 Semi-official channel from China-based site. Includes many clips from state TV
Mokran Video Channel lollipopzam 16-Jun-10 763,383 238 322 Videos from North Korea’s Mokran, apparently unofficially uploaded
Tonpo Mail tonpomail 12-May-12 400,539 340 500 Original videos and TV clips from North Korean-related newspaper in Japan
State TV, music and movies tyrlop 30-Aug-06 230,149 66 570 Clips, including old video, about North Korea
Music from North Korea & KCTV Recordings DPRKMusicChannel 5-Mar-12 145,145 112 552 North Korean music, including clips from state TV
DPRK Concert dprkconcert 14-Oct-11 130,710 24 344 Small selection of North Korean singers
North Korea northkoreavideos 2-Jun-12 109,296 28 551 New channel carrying KCNA clips with English subtitles
Squirrel and Hedgehog dprksquirrels 19-Jul-09 85,873 65 268 DPRK’s Squirrel and Hedgehog cartoon, subtitled into English
KCNA Uploader kcnauploader 13-Jan-12 84,598 790 195 Videos from KCNA news agency, automatically scraped from its site
Korea KFA koreakfa 1-Mar-10 68,756 30 444 Old video and a Spanish-language address by KFA’s Alejandro Cao de Benos
Ming Kim NorthKoreaManse 9-Apr-12 41,800 86 145 North Korean songs
Canal de EHkoKFA EHkoKFA 20-Dec-11 32,179 149 110 KCNA clips with Spanish subtitles
DPRKmusic1 DPRKmusic1 1-Apr-12 20,144 27 54 North Korean songs

These channels are still available but haven’t been updated in the last six months.

Channel Name YouTube user Date started Views Videos Subscribers Description
DPRK Database atiu88 28-Mar-06 3,479,220 371 961 Many videos about North Korea
Chosun Music chosunmusiccom 20-Aug-08 1,818,176 267 652 Music from North Korea
DPRK TV Radio dprktvradio 17-Feb-09 1,171,699 324 829 North Korean TV clips, not updated for 2 years
Socialist Korea socialistkorea 14-Jan-11 39,938 6 284 Small number of videos about North Korea
Korean Friendship Association koreadpr 15-Aug-07 38,346 7 104 Handful of videos from the Korean Friendship Association

It’s not all propaganda on YouTube. Here are four channels that offer videos with a slightly more analytical view of North Korea and the international issues surrounding the country.

Channel Name YouTube user Date started Views Videos Subscribers Description
North Korea Tech northkoreatech 17-Apr-12 335,981 48 96 YouTube channel of this site!
NKEconWatch nkeconwatch 6-Jan-08 258,068 76 209 Videos to accompany the NKEconWatch site
Adam Cathcart adamcathcart 9-Jun-08 31,462 95 40 Analysis of North Korean issues
38 North 38northNK 2-May-12 3,198 14 44 From the U.S.-Korea Institute at SAIS

And finally, just for the sake of the record, these channels existed in the September 2012 version of the chart, but had been removed from YouTube by the time the March 2013 survey was compiled.

Channel Name YouTube user Date started Views Videos Subscribers Description
DPRK Movies mvap1917 15-Dec-10 435,849 83 176 North Korean movies with English subtitles
1G9D8R3 1G9D8R3 27-Sep-12 43,953 217 51 Many musical clips from the DPRK
  • #1 written by Jaker
    about 2 months ago

    Ah darn! And I wanted to watch Basketball, on North Korea Sports channel. Pardon? They don’t have Sport of any kind?

    Shucks!

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