Munya Chawawa takes on Kim Jong Un

For another Channel 4 documentary

Munya Chawawa is to make a Channel 4 documentary about North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

The film will be the second under the How To Survive A Dictator banner, following last year’s programme about Robert Mugabe’s rule in Zimbabwe, where the comedian grew up.

For the programme, he will travel to Switzerland, South Korea and suburban West London – where North Korea has its embassy – although not the notoriously secretive state itself.

Chawawa said: ‘It’s been tricky to not feel a sense of apocalypse anxiety recently. Is the world going to end? Are nukes going to be launched? Will we make it to the release of GTA 6?! A lot of that stems from North Korea and Kim Jong Un, so doing this doc has not only been fascinating, but also given me a strange sense of closure, cheers Kim!’

Producers Rumpus say the comic will deploy his ‘signature wit and barbed satire’ to find out how dangerous Kim really is with a mix of comedy sketches and traditional documentary. That includes meeting a school friend of the dictator as well as people who have seen the effects of the regime at first hand.

Channel 4 executive Shaminder Nahal said: ‘In an uncertain and often dangerous world, it feels more important than ever to understand the dictators who wield unchecked power.’

She added that the programme ‘will explore the world of Kim Jong Un in a surprising and compelling way, asking questions not just about the North Korean regime, but what its existence means for all of us’.

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Published: 31 May 2024