Russia and North Korea to Co-Produce Film On Taekwondo History

Russia is planning the first co-production with North Korea since the Soviet era as part of a larger scheme aimed at stepping up film collaboration with the rogue nation.

State-backed Russian and North Korean filmmakers are planning a feature on the history of traditional Korean martial art of taekwondo, producer Yuri Mityushin told a news conference in Moscow on Tuesday.

“This picture will tell the story of taekwondo development,” he said. “It has a very long history and was known even in Czarist Russia. In addition, we are planning several more co-productions [with North Korea].”

A delegation of North Korean filmmakers is currently on a visit to Moscow, timed to a series of screenings of North Korean films.

According to Mityushin, who organized the screenings and the visit, the North Korean filmmakers are also scheduled to discuss collaboration with the state-run studios Mosfilm and Gorky Studio and talk with Russia’s main film school, VGIK, about accepting North Korean students.

Film ties between Russia and North Korea broke with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Before that, the Soviet Union and North Korea co-produced several movies, mostly focused on World War II events.

The most recent of those, Bereg spaseniya (Salvation Shore), directed by Arya Dashiyev, was released in 1990.

The announcement comes against the backdrop of Russia trying to step up co-production with other countries. Recently, co-production projects with China and India have been discussed.