TV Preview: Kim Jong-Il's Comedy Club – BBC4, 10pm
A JOURNALIST with no scruples and a pair of Danish comedians travel to North Korea with a mission – to use humour to uncover the truth behind one of the world's most notorious regimes.
On the pretext of being a small Danish theatre troupe on a cultural exchange, Mads Brugger was granted permission by the North Korean government to stage a performance for a select audience in the capital.
In reality, Brugger was an undercover film-maker, accompanied by two Danish-Korean comedians, Jacob and Simon.
Their goal was to use humour to expose the effects of an oppressive regime.
The documentary follows the troupe as they are lovingly, yet firmly, escorted by a motherly government employee around the important historical sites and as other government officials comment on their performance.
However, this double life soon becomes wearing on Jacob, who feels conflicting emotions of affection and hatred for his hosts.
All of North Korea's 23 million inhabitants are ruled by General Kim Jong-Il, pictured.
His regime has been accused of violations of human rights, but the true extent is still largely unknown.
The idea of Kim Jong-Il's Comedy Club was to take a darkly humorous look inside the North Korean dictatorship. But how far can comedy go to shine light into such bleak areas?
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