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 February 8, 2014, 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 Subscribers Description
StimmeKoreas stimmekoreas 22-Jul-10 14,908,757 12,437 Assorted video, including state TV clips
North Korea Today rodrigorojo1 26-Sep-07 10,692,295 10,563 Supposed official channel. TV clips, travel video, music
Uriminzokkiri uriminzokkiri 14-Jul-10 9,849,582 9,924 Semi-official channel from China-based site. Includes many clips from state TV
Tonpo Mail tonpomail 12-May-12 1,461,427 1,489 Original videos and TV clips from North Korean-related newspaper in Japan
Koryo Media lollipopzam 16-Jun-10 1,368,849 749 Videos from North Korea’s Mokran, apparently unofficially uploaded
DPRK Music Channel DPRKMusicChannel 5-Mar-12 1,363,436 3,105 North Korean music, including clips from state TV
North Korea northkoreavideos 2-Jun-12 1,040,374 3,545 New channel carrying KCNA clips with English subtitles
VOK216 VOK216 15-Aug-07 608,949 342 Music and videos from North Korea and other socialist countries
DPRK Video Archive tyrlop 30-Aug-06 472,629 1,087 Clips, including old video, about North Korea
KCNA Uploader kcnauploader 13-Jan-12 256,666 415 Videos from KCNA news agency, automatically scraped from its site
Songs from the DPRK overwatch16 6-Apr-12 256,122 537 North Korean songs
Ming Kim NorthKoreaManse 9-Apr-12 158,842 479 North Korean songs
DPRK Sports Valdas143return 18-Nov-11 104,285 226 North Korean sports clips
Canal de EHkoKFA EHkoKFA 20-Dec-11 93,796 223 KCNA clips with Spanish subtitles
DPRKmusic1 DPRKmusic1 1-Apr-12 57,114 135 North Korean songs
KFA Italia KFAitalia 29-Oct-08 10,956 40 Italian chapter of Korea Friendship Association

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

Channel Name YouTube user Date started Views Subscribers Description
DPRK Music ANStasyuk 1-Dec-10 16,519,612 5,456 North Korean music, including clips from state TV
DPRK Database atiu88 28-Mar-06 3,634,623 1,091 Many videos about North Korea
Chosun Music chosunmusiccom 20-Aug-08 2,178,845 1,005 Music from North Korea
DPRK TV Radio dprktvradio 17-Feb-09 1,287,306 941 North Korean TV clips, not updated for 2 years
DPRK Concert dprkconcert 14-Oct-11 829,700 1,358 Small selection of North Korean singers
Sam Yang Samheroyang 15-Dec-11 501,072 882 North Korean music
Mangyongbong92 Mangyongbong92 4-Nov-11 159,186 139 North Korean music
Korea KFA koreakfa 1-Mar-10 116,228 637 Old video and a Spanish-language address by KFA’s Alejandro Cao de Benos
Squirrel and Hedgehog dprksquirrels 19-Jul-09 109,262 774 DPRK’s Squirrel and Hedgehog cartoon, subtitled into English
Socialist Korea socialistkorea 14-Jan-11 45,393 360 Small number of videos about North Korea
Korean Friendship Association koreadpr 15-Aug-07 41,406 141 Handful of videos from the Korean Friendship Association
VoiceofKorea1 VoiceOfKorea1 14-Jul-12 829 16 Voice of Korea recordings via shortwave

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 Subscribers Description
North Korea Tech northkoreatech 17-Apr-12 842,936 282 YouTube channel of this site!
Ray Cunningham zaruka 31-Aug-06 663,970 166 Video from trips to North Korea
Koryo Group koryogroup 28-Nov-11 316,916 647 Video from Koryo Group tours
NKEconWatch nkeconwatch 6-Jan-08 303,947 232 Videos to accompany the NKEconWatch site
Adam Cathcart adamcathcart 9-Jun-08 34,957 53 Analysis of North Korean issues
Humanity Beside Us humanitybesideusblog 28-Oct-12 19,786 32 Video from a tourist who traveled to North Korea
North Korea Vagabond North Korea Vagabond 17,845 64 Video from a tourist who traveled to North Korea
38 North 38northNK 2-May-12 4,513 69 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 Subscribers Description
DPRK Movies mvap1917 15-Dec-10 435,849 176 North Korean movies with English subtitles
1G9D8R3 1G9D8R3 27-Sep-12 43,953 51 Many musical clips from the DPRK

4 Comments on "The North Korean YouTube List"

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

    Shucks!

  2. “but haven’t been updated in the last six months”

    What? My channel (Valdas143return) was updated many times!

  3. The rodrigorojo1 channel has been terminated. Thought you should know.

    https://www.youtube.com/rodrigorojo1

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