North Korea was an Asian nation in the peninsula of Korea.
History[]
The Korean peninsula was divided into North and South as early as 1950. The Korean War involved the two countries, as well as American, British, and Chinese soldiers. (COMIC: The Good Soldier [+]Andrew Cartmel, DWM Comics (Marvel Comics, 1991).)
In the 1950s, the Eleventh Doctor played and won a game of draughts against the ruler of North Korea. The Doctor recalled that the game would mean that the two Koreas would reunite amicably in ninety years' time, and have real-estate on the Moon, but he was not too sure of the details. (PROSE: Horror of the Space Snakes [+]Gary Russell, BBC New Series Adventures - 2 in 1 books (BBC Books, 2012).)
By the year 2009, North Korea was part of the worldwide nuclear grid overseen by UNIT. (TV: The Poison Sky [+]Helen Raynor, Doctor Who series 4 (BBC One, 2008).)
In the wake of Miracle Day in 2011, the North Korean regime viewed its population as immortal soldiers and mobilised troops along the border with South Korea. (TV: The New World [+]Russell T Davies, Torchwood series 4 (Starz, 2011).)
The Tenth Doctor compared Castle Extremis to a scenario in which North and South Korea decided to ditch their weapons programmes and buy Alton Towers. (PROSE: Martha in the Mirror [+]Justin Richards, BBC New Series Adventures (BBC Books, 2008).)
Behind the scenes[]
According to reports in 2014, Doctor Who was among the few foreign media the BBC was seeking to export to North Korea, alongside Top Gear and Teletubbies. As per negotiations between North Korea's state broadcaster Korean Central Television, the BBC, and the UK Foreign Office, these programmes would have been broadcast on North Korean television. However, this deal does not appear to have ever been finalised. Typically, foreign media is strictly regulated, and these programmes would have been no exception.[1][2] As a result of these negotiations, some tabloids erroneously claimed North Korea had already started broadcasting Doctor Who.[3]