I would recommend not watching the Vice Guide to North Korea. That series is more about Vice (which I've read and enjoyed for over a decade and otherwise recommend), using North Korea and their preconceptions to show themselves off, than about North Korea (though North Korea does show through). Yes, the place is weird, but Vice sensationalizes it out of proportion and shows themselves off. Great for Vice, but at the expense of understanding.

My bibliography -- http://joshuaspodek.com/north-korea-bibliography -- has many sources more valuable for learning about North Korea. I found the New Yorker pieces particularly valuable, as well as the work by Barbara Demick.

I blogged extensively on North Korea since my visit there -- http://joshuaspodek.com/category/northkorea. My goal is to promote understanding, not to sensationalize. I've gotten good reviews on

- My series on North Korean strategy --http://joshuaspodek.com/north-korea-strategy-preview

- My series on playing in the first ever Ultimate Frisbee tournament and about sport in creating bonds -- http://joshuaspodek.com/ultimate-frisbee-north-korea-part-1

To Vice's credit, their recent series on exploring the North Korean logging camps in Siberia is more mature, though is outside North Korea.