Ridiculous History – CLASSIC: The American Soldiers Who Defected to North Korea and Became Movie Stars

Host: Ben Bowlin (with Noel Brown)
Date: November 1, 2025
Podcast: Ridiculous History by iHeartPodcasts

Episode Overview

In this classic episode, Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown explore one of the strangest, most cinematic stories of Cold War history: the handful of American soldiers who defected to North Korea—and subsequently became movie stars in the Hermit Kingdom’s propaganda films. The episode unpacks the bizarre chain of events that took these men from the US military to Pyongyang’s silver screens, explores North Korea’s unique obsession with film (especially under Kim Jong Il), and discusses the consequences and aftermath for these unlikely celebrities.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why American Soldiers Defected to North Korea

• The hosts discuss how, while most news about North Korea focuses on desperate escapes from the regime, “what we don’t talk about as often is the number of people who have attempted to escape into North Korea, including American soldiers” (Ben, 02:08).
• The episode centers on several notable defectors: Charles Robert Jenkins, Larry Allen Abshier, James Joseph Dresnok, Jerry Wayne Parrish, and Joseph T. White, with Ben and Noel detailing their backgrounds and motives, which ranged from disillusionment with the US military to personal crises.

2. The Surreal Act of Defection

• The story of Charles Robert Jenkins is highlighted for its sheer absurdity—after a night of heavy drinking, he “walked alone across a minefield” into North Korea in 1965 (Ben, 10:12; Noel, 10:38).
• Jenkins' trek is described by the hosts with bemused disbelief:

  “Walked drunkenly across a minefield.” (Noel, 10:38)
  “He did, like, drunk boxing parkour across the minefields.” (Ben, 10:53)

3. Life Under the Regime: Indoctrination and Forced Labor

• Defectors, upon arrival, were subjected to intense indoctrination, including forced study of the Juche philosophy for “almost 12 hours every day” (Ben, 12:50), under constant surveillance.
• After indoctrination, some like Jenkins were “put to work as an English translator and teacher,” and—most bizarrely—forced to act in North Korean propaganda films (Noel, 14:19).

4. Propaganda Stardom

• Kim Jong Il's passion for cinema led to the conscription of the defectors as on-screen “evil Americans” in war movies:

  “They needed someone to be depicted as agents of chaos from the American side. And they said, oh, look, we’ve got this guy. We've got this Sergeant Jenkins here.” (Ben, 21:17)

• These men became local celebrities—albeit under watchful eyes and perpetual suspicion.

5. North Korea’s Obsession with Film

• Kim Jong Il, an “enormous film buff,” built a massive personal bootleg collection and even kidnapped South Korean directors to build up the North’s domestic movie industry (Ben, 20:12; Noel, 40:05).
• The hosts recount the story of Shin Sang-ok, a kidnapped director forced to make “a ripoff of Godzilla called Ghassari,” about “a small doll made of rice that becomes a mythical creature and helps the peasants overthrow a monarchy” (Noel, 40:05).

6. Enforced Marriages and Symbolism

• Jenkins (and likely others) was “forced to marry a Japanese citizen who had been kidnapped by North Korea” for the purpose of training spies.
• Children from such unions were valued as potential spies because of their “ethnically ambiguous” appearance (Ben, 27:41).

7. Celebrity Status and Its Odd Aftermath

• In North Korea, defectors were showcased in films and magazines as proof of American inferiority and the superiority of Juche.
• Jenkins was later able to leave North Korea (2004), but others—like James Dresnok—remained loyal, even unto death:

  “He died happily in North Korea in 2016 … He professed support for communism. … He was the last living American defector in North Korea.” (Ben, 28:23)

8. Reflections & Regrets

• Charles Jenkins, contrary to official DPRK portrayals, described the defectors as “young, dumb soldiers from poor backgrounds” who “would have left in a second if they could have. What a sorry ass little foursome we were.” (Noel quoting Jenkins, 29:47)

9. Propaganda Films and Other Weird Tales

• A tour through North Korean propaganda cinema, including Unsung Heroes and other films, which depicted the exploits of defectors and the supposed evils of Americans.
• Mention of “Eternal Comrades,” dramatizing a Soviet officer’s heroics to save Kim Il Sung (Ben, 42:15).

10. Bonus: Kim Jong Un’s Obsession with Basketball

• In a wild tangent, Ben recounts North Korea’s later campaign to make the country a “basketball powerhouse,” leading to the bizarre diplomatic friendship with Dennis Rodman (Ben, 43:56).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Most of the news you hear about North Korea involves the oppressed members of the North Korean public attempting to escape … but what we don’t talk about as often is the number of people who have attempted to escape into North Korea, including American soldiers.”
  — Ben (02:08)

• “Walked drunkenly across a minefield.”
  — Noel (10:38)

• “He did, like, drunk boxing parkour across the minefields.”
  — Ben (10:53)

• “Jenkins is forced to do homework, forced to study Juche philosophy for 11 hours every day.”
  — Ben (12:50)

• “He was also forced to marry a Japanese citizen who had been kidnapped by North Korea … The strange thing about this is that Jenkins … became an actor, but he became an actor in propaganda films.”
  — Ben (14:48)

• “They needed someone to be depicted as agents of chaos ... They said, oh, look, we’ve got this guy. We've got this Sergeant Jenkins here.”
  — Ben (21:17)

• On their unlikely on-screen fame:

  “After several films, they became local celebrities in North Korea.” — Ben (23:31)

• Jenkins’ blunt summary:

  “We were all young, dumb soldiers from poor backgrounds. ... What a sorry ass little foursome we were.”
  — Noel reading Jenkins, (29:47)

• “Kim Jong Il was so interested in film that he … thought … kidnapping was the way you hired people.”
  — Ben (41:52)

• “There are gross and ongoing human rights abuses in the country. … Today’s episode examined the very strange story of the people who went in the other direction.”
  — Ben (45:23)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:08] – Framing the episode: American defectors to North Korea
• [10:12–11:19] – Charles Jenkins’ drunken defection across the DMZ
• [12:50–14:19] – Life upon arrival: indoctrination, forced study, forced marriage
• [20:12–21:17] – Kim Jong Il’s cinema obsession and casting of defectors in movies
• [23:31–24:17] – Becoming minor celebrities; magazine propaganda
• [27:41] – Forced marriages and the use of offspring as spies
• [28:23–29:29] – Dresnok’s unrepentant life (dies in North Korea); Jenkins escapes
• [29:47] – Jenkins’ scathing reflection on himself and the others
• [40:05–41:07] – Kim Jong Il’s kidnapping of filmmakers, the Godzilla ripoff, Ghassari
• [43:56–45:18] – Kim Jong Un, Dennis Rodman, and North Korea’s basketball dreams
• [45:23] – Reflection on the rarity and consequences of defecting this direction

Conclusion and Reflections

In their classic irreverent style, Ben and Noel mix sober history, bizarre details, and sharp wit to illuminate the jaw-dropping tale of American soldiers who traded one authoritarian system for another and unexpectedly found themselves starring in propaganda movies. The episode closes by reflecting on the surreal calculus of defection and its lasting impact, and invites listeners to share their own North Korea stories or thoughts (“Would you ever defect to a distant, maybe not US-friendly country if it meant you could live as a king?” — Ben, 46:15).

Bonus Facts & Easter Eggs

• The recurring North Korean propaganda magazine Fortune’s Favorites included “Letters from Abshear and Dresnok,” which were clearly ghostwritten to serve regime narratives (25:43).
• In Japan, Jenkins’ improbable romance with his kidnapped wife is apparently celebrated as a “great modern romance” (Ben, 32:18).

For Further Reference

• The US Soldier Who Defected to North Korea by Graham Wood, The Atlantic (2013)
• Documentary: Crossing the Line (about James Joseph Dresnok)
• Ben and Noel recommend the “Ridiculous Historians” Facebook community for more odd history tidbits.