Inside a Female-Only Factory in North Korea (Exclusive Documentary)

Local Lives
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8 Video Views·Feb 16, 2026
This is an excerpt of the documentary "My Brothers and Sisters in the North" by South Korean filmmaker Sung-Hyung Cho, who renounced her passport and obtained German citizenship to gain access to North Korea for filming, where she personally visited a local garment factory, engaged in conversations with locals, and captured rare, unseen footage.
Chapters
▷ 00:00 – Early Morning
▷ 02:29 – History of the Factory
▷ 03:05 – Introduction to the Factory
▷ 03:51 – “If Only the Economic Sanctions Were Lifted”
▷ 05:43 – Life of Female Workers
▷ 10:02 – Nightfall
Let's live today as Tully Makishi under this title
In August Mayor Oh who was visiting the ancestral home of Hyeonji the founder of the reformist movement at Kim Chae Industrial College
While highly praising the dedication of the military construction workers who have taken on volunteer service maintaining their commitment despite the hardships
Owning such a unit is our party's pride and the nation's pride
The today's toolmakers who shape the era forging the great machinery of the powerful and prosperous society
You have given the highest possible rating
The pioneers of the Toolima era are asking us this
Is Dukmoon riding Turylima
The Turylimakishi who have received our party's high evaluation
As the number of agile individuals who race through time like soldiers in the Construction Reform Corps chasing villains and spreading chaos continues to grow
The miraculous history of creation by this nation will continue to flow endlessly onward
Let us proudly be the Toulimakishi of the revolutionary era shining brightly in the Songun era
We too resolve to live brightly today as worthy of the new generation of youth daring to shine like the Toolimakishi
Father mother fellow youths let us all sing this song together My father
the youth poet
The river flows forward carving its path snow falls on
the barren sand and Young-ra who once dug up new
soil has come no more
I'm a kind of reformer who fires people on a
whim Young upstarts act as if they own the money and yet today they still fail to bring joy to you my lord with sincere hearts
Let's shine today with nothing but our production results
Then let's get to work
Chairman Kim In-geon fellow countryma
This factory was donated to our country for the development of the sister nation's heavy industry
Therefore Comrade Kim Jong-in of the Republic of Korea in 1992
So we planned the construction up
until 1992 began production in 1993
and have been producing continuously ever since just as we are now
How many factory employees are there approximately
Around 400 or so
What about the factory workers' schedule
What time do they start and end their shift
Arrive at work by 6:30 a
m start working at 8:00
a and take a lunch break from 12:00 p to 2:00 p
I usually finish work by 6 p m in the
evening and I also do stretching during lunch
I ended up working until 7 p m while taking a little break
here and there and by 7:30 everyone had finished for the day
In order to complete all the tasks
assigned for the day they're working
nonstop right now What kind of clothes are they currently making
What we're currently producing is surgical equipment
our factory also manufactures clothing needed for the daily lives of the people
Depending on the situation we also
produce these export goods where exactly
are these export items being sent Currently we're exporting through China
In relation to economic sanctions we are exporting not directly ourselves but rather
through China to other countries such as the
United States and multiple countries in China
That's right—how nice it would be if we could export immediately
That would be ideal
Once this economic blockade is lifted
I believe it will continue to do well in the future
Since when have you been exporting through China
Five years ago
Don't you ever hear anyone suggesting we do it together from the south
There are also big business people doing things separately
and they're all urging us to do the same
It keeps getting blocked due to such issues
which is why it's been
halted When is it hardest
There are times when materials may slightly deteriorate but since we don't rely
entirely on them and also have products
manufactured domestically we're well covered
That doesn't entitle us to anything
It's like I'd have to become a whale every single day really those flowers
are so beautiful once the lockdown
restrictions all disappear in the future
I think it's about done now
It says "September competition schedule " but what does that mean
Our 7th international class comrades in September
They've been revealing the work they've done every single day
Right away the performance and
how much was achieved—just stating
it feels unpleasant Next working
hard for the team helping others—
In the morning after coming out with
Nambojwa I cleaned
one more time and when
others are sick I also take care of the
animals and do a lot of work for them
Working hard here and doing
so will also boost your score
Will this chart affect the monthly payment later on
Yes I see
Who came in first
They awarded first place to Kim Ryang-i Right now
there are many diligent comrades in the work team
It seems Jinnyang is the most skilled at this
We should congratulate
Ms Jinnyang You've worked hard preparing for the operation
Although it was a new product
thanks to your thorough
understanding and continued efforts in mastering
it we successfully carried out today's schedule as planned Remember this moment Jinnyang my comrade
Comrade Park Yesoon Comrade Park
Kyung-ho and the other comrades—all
of them accomplished
today's schedule plan
at a higher level than everyone else
Let's all clap loudly to celebrate these comrades
Due to not properly understanding the product
together with Hongnyang and your brother
Today brought a little confusion
These comrades gather together and never lose the sincerity you poured into this effort today
We will continue to maintain
transparency thoroughly understand this
product and remain vigilant to ensure such
issues never arise again
I completed our scheduled 150 tasks
From tomorrow onward we need to carry out 200 scheduled tasks
We can successfully carry out the immigration and
economic plan entrusted to us So many comrades have
Comrades who fully understand
tomorrow's schedule and
strictly follow the planned work schedule accordingly
From the very first task of the morning I
was tense—today I couldn't quite get myself worked up
So I straightened out the work atmosphere and got things back on track
By working under tension we risk disrupting tomorrow's schedule so I’d
like to urge everyone once more to carry out
their tasks smoothly and efficiently
Please raise any issues you
have regarding the production
process whether with the work team or individually
Isn't there
Since there's nothing left to do I just want to say once again
how much we appreciate everyone's hard work—
let's make sure to rest well tomorrow
If there's nothing else let's go home Thank
you all for your hard work
