What do North Koreans watch to get in the holiday spirit?

The holiday season is for television around the world. For Christmas, Americans watch It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) or the stop-motion Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964). Germans watch A Dinner for One (1964) on New Year’ Eve, while Russians watch Soviet romance Irony of Fate (1976). On the eve of Chinese New Year, China Central Television annually runs a Spring Festival variety show.

North Koreans watch 'Our Warm Home’ (따뜻한 우리 집), a multi-part television drama, about a bachelor doctor at the Pyongyang Maternity Hospital surrounded by an all-woman staff of nurses. Imagine that.

The show was originally just two episodes but was extended due to its popularity. The series is usually on TV around both the solar and lunar new years, which are both celebrated in Korea.

You can watch ‘Our Warm House’ on Youtube (see below). Although there are unfortunately no English subtitles, the series does show life in Pyongyang around the New Year.

Better yet, join Koryo Tours’ annual New Year’s Eve Tour and see New Year in North Korea for yourself.

A Pyongyang Home Companion is a guide to daily life in Korea: how-to, food, sports, modern culture, and romance.

Interested in North Korean film? Check our our September Pyongyang International Film Festival Tour to learn more about Chollywood and the North Korean film industry.