British soccer flick a hit in Pyongyang

By Kim Young-jin Pyongyang is abuzz after the North Korean government aired the film “Bend It Like Beckham” earlier this week in a rare broadcast of Western media content, British diplomats say. The screening, aired Sunday, was organized by the British Embassy in Pyongyang to mark 10 years of diplomatic ties. It was the first-ever television broadcast of a Western film in the Stalinist state. “Diplomats in Pyongyang say it created quite a buzz in the city,” an official of the British Embassy in Seoul said on condition of anonymity. “North Koreans in Pyongyang are talking about the film and its content. They found it interesting. ” British Ambassador to Pyongyang Peter Hughes said after the screening that it was “part of the U.K.’s policy of engagement with the North Korean people.” The embassy had been in talks with representatives of the North’s state media since early this year, as well as with the producers of the film, to arrange the broadcast. “The film was chosen because of the theme of soccer as well as other interesting themes such as multiculturalism, equality and tolerance,” the official said. The embassy also took note of the “nice link” the two counties have over soccer. Britain hosted the North Korean squad at the 1966 World Cup. The 2002 film, which usually clocks in at 112 minutes, was cut by some eight minutes, reports said. Pyongyang-based diplomats who viewed the film said it was “not obvious” which parts had been edited, the official said. Given its 8 p.m. timeslot, ratings were predicted to have been quite high, the official said. The comedy tells the story of a daughter of a Sikh family who follows her passion for soccer despite the objections of her conservative parents. It was a departure from the usual fare on North Korean television, which typically runs tightly-controlled news broadcasts, documentaries and soap operas. Soccer is beloved in the isolated state. But the film also raises issues such as interracial relationships, sexism and Westernization. Western media is generally frowned on in the Stalinist state, but Pyongyang does host a biennial international film festival that has included entries from around the world. The film, which stars Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley and Jonathan Rhys Myers, ran at the festival in 2004.

yjk@koreatimes.co.kr