Video summary

I Watched EVERY North Korean Cartoon... It Broke Me.

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News and Commentary

Overview

The video argues that North Korea’s animation industry is not just crude propaganda aimed at children. It is also a long-running outsourcing pipeline that helped produce (or at least subcontract portions of) internationally known animated series—while simultaneously serving as a powerful tool for ideological indoctrination.

Portrayal of North Korean Cartoons

  • Children’s entertainment is depicted as unusually intense and politicized. The creator claims that what looks like simple children’s entertainment frequently includes espionage, war, torture, executions, and psychological pressure—especially in The Squirrel and the Hedgehog (1977). They also highlight later episodes where characters are beaten, threatened, and forced into an execution “loyalty test.”

  • Political symbolism is described as blunt and far-reaching. In The Squirrel and the Hedgehog, animals are portrayed as national proxies:

    • squirrels/hedgehogs/rabbits as “North Korea”
    • rats as South Korea
    • weasels as Japan
    • wolves as the United States The series is framed as teaching viewers to distrust outsiders, aligning with claimed North Korean attitudes toward major allies.

  • Depictions of the USSR/Soviet Union are said to be especially revealing. The video claims North Korea framed the Soviet Union as unreliable and even used alcohol-related stereotypes in the plot, despite historically significant Soviet support.

Connection to Leadership Cult Logic

The video links the animation’s messaging to the regime’s style of rule and leadership-cult mechanisms. It claims the shows repeatedly mirror:

  • depictions of drunken incompetence
  • punishment and hierarchical control It also notes that the Supreme Leader reportedly influenced the production environment (including threats toward studio artists).

International Exposure and Distribution

  • Export and re-editing are presented as part of the story. The series was re-edited and exported by an Italian company (Brave Soldiers).

  • Online “discovery” is described as fueling Western interest. The video claims that Korean-uploaded versions circulated around 2010, turning the content into a “mystery/treasure hunt” online. This helped generate Western fandom and analysis.

UNICEF Criticism

The video reports that UNICEF criticized the show for:

  • demonizing countries
  • glorifying war
  • portraying military heroism as admirable Concerns are raised about potential psychological effects on children.

Outsourcing Claims: How Western Shows May Include North Korean Work

A major focus is a late-2023 discovery by researcher Nick Roy:

  • An unprotected North Korean server was reportedly found to contain animation production files.
  • The server appeared to be updated daily.
  • Notes were written in Chinese and later translated into Korean.

The video argues this suggests North Korea was performing subcontract animation for major international projects, with intermediary companies obscuring the true origin of the labor. Examples mentioned include:

  • Invincible
  • HBO Max’s Ian the Wonder Child

Proposed Subcontracting Chain to Evade Sanctions

The video references Reuters investigating how work could pass through multiple layers (e.g., Korea/Japan → China → North Korea), potentially preventing the final client from knowing the real subcontract source.

Institutional System: Insider Testimony

The video uses testimony attributed to Troy Son (a defector) to explain the system:

  • The April 26 Animation Studio is said to have established Seek/Sek Studio in the 1980s specifically to seek foreign contracts.
  • The effort is described as starting with European projects and expanding into a long list of clients.

Why the Animation Isn’t Necessarily “Bad”—It’s Specialized

The video argues North Korean animation quality can be understood as “specialized” rather than inherently incompetent:

  • Studios are said to recruit highly trained artists.
  • They allegedly excel at reproducing other styles accurately.
  • The video claims foreign projects may rely on outsourcing intermediate shots (in-between frames), which can be repetitive and well-suited for low-cost mass production.

Labor Cost Advantages

Labor costs are presented as central to the outsourcing model:

  • North Korean animators, the video claims, could be paid far less than counterparts elsewhere.
  • It cites potential reductions of 90% or more.

Evidence of Technological Improvement

The video points to another long-running series, The Boy General:

  • Presented as revived in 2014 under Kim Jong-un.
  • Used as evidence that North Korea improved its animation quality and developed stronger digital/3D capabilities over decades.
  • Despite these improvements, the series is said to retain the same anti-Japanese and spy-catching propaganda themes.

Final Conclusion

The video concludes that North Korean animation functions as both:

  • an indoctrination tool, and
  • a source of export revenue It claims overseas subcontracting could bring in roughly $120 million per year, helping explain how sanctions and political isolation have not prevented the regime from maintaining luxury.

Presenters or Contributors

  • Narrator/Presenter: Tony (referred to as “Tony” throughout the video)
  • Referenced contributors/investigators/organizations:
    • UNICEF
    • Nick Roy
    • Reuters
    • Troy Son
    • Kim Jong-un (mentioned)
    • Kim Jong-il is not directly mentioned
    • “General Kim Jong” is used as a host phrasing/bit for Kim Jong-un

Original video