The North Korean government gave Russian director, Vitaly Mansky, permission to film a documentary that it thought would be a propaganda piece, but it turned into a self-described deep-cover look into life under one of the world’s most repressive regimes. 

Under The Sun follows a North Korean student as she learns about “the triumphs of Great Leader Kim Il-sung, joins the Children’s Union and participates in the national celebration of Kim Jong-il’s birthday.” We’ll ask historian, Bruce Cumings, how close the film comes to revealing what life may be really like in the mysterious country. 

Cumings is professor of history at the University of Chicago and author of numerous books on the Korean peninsula including, The Korean War: A History and North Korea: Another Country.