He described a society so tightly controlled that many citizens lack fundamental emotions—an observation that, in his view, raises concerns if North Korean troops join the conflict in Ukraine.
A chilling ‘mechanical’ mindset
Mansky believes North Koreans “function like machines” due to extreme propaganda. “They have no real concept of fear because they do not realize how tragic their lives are,” he told the Ukrainian Pravda news outlet. Mansky claimed they show neither love nor the full range of human emotion, explaining that North Korean cinema, for instance, rarely features romantic storylines.
He expects their presence on the battlefield to be problematic: “Despite having no actual combat experience, they have a ‘mechanical quality’ and won’t hesitate because they’re unaware of alternatives,” he said.
“Worse than Stalin’s era”
Mansky’s 2015 film Under the Sun—co-produced by Russia, Germany, and the Czech Republic—depicts a North Korean family’s daily life, strictly guided by regime officials. Secretly, Mansky shot additional footage that revealed constructed realities and a relentless cult of personality. He calls the situation “worse than anything under Stalin,” adding that North Koreans are raised to venerate their leader in place of any religious belief.
The director likened his time in Pyongyang to visiting Auschwitz, claiming he inwardly wept as he watched a populace robbed of free thought. He also noted he never saw a cemetery: “Those people never existed in life, and they will not exist in death,” he said.
From Russia to Ukraine
Born in 1963 in Lviv (now in western Ukraine), Mansky eventually moved to St. Petersburg and then to Latvia after clashes with Russian authorities over his documentary festival Artdocfest. He has been an outspoken critic of both Vladimir Putin and the Kim regime. Under the Sun remains one of the few firsthand accounts of the everyday reality in North Korea—where, Mansky stresses, “even the concept of fear isn’t fully understood.”
(jh)
Source: Polskie Radio 24