Original subtitles

(dramatic music)

NARRATOR: Our journey begins in Hongcheon in South Korea.

We are about 100 km east of Seoul.

There is supposed to be an unusual prison.

Koreans go here out of their own free will...

..into tiny cells, without any contact to the outside world.

Do they want to punish themselves?

What secret is behind this prison?

In a luxury van, a prison employee brings the new inmates.

We are meeting Nam-Eun a 51-year-old Korean from Seoul.

Three days of prison lie ahead of him, out of his own free will.

- Happy? - Yeah.

NARRATOR: The inmates are issued with uniforms,

just like in a prison, so to speak.

They have to sign up and get changed.

So this is really not a joke!

Everywhere there are cameras. What is Nam-Eun doing here?

- Why am I here?

Uh, to put myself, actually my body, into the prison.

NARRATOR: Right... not an explanation

but at least this really seems to be voluntary.

The inmates pack their possessions into special jute bags.

CAMERAWOMAN:

NAM-EUN:

- (phone dings)

NARRATOR: And no mobile.

Nam-Eun and the others have to hand in their phones.

An employee locks them away.

(curious music)

NARRATOR: It is Friday, 4pm.

Nam-Eun sees his room for the first time...

or to be more precise, his cell.

28 of these are next to each other here,

all furnished rather... simply.

CAMERAWOMAN: So, this is going to be your new home?

Yeah. (laughs) My prison.

- What do you think about it?

(mumbles)

NARRATOR: And where is the bed?

In the wardrobe, Nam-Eun finds a thin mattress.

CAMERAWOMAN: How would you do it?

(chuckles)

NARRATOR: The other inmates, too, are moving in to their cells.

All the rooms are only five square metres, plus a small toilet.

But why are the rooms so small?

The inventor of this voluntary prison explains...

- (in Korean)

NARRATOR: This sounds almost a bit like a detoxification centre.

Prison boss Kwon shows us the garden.

The 51-year-old has fulfilled his big dream with this prison.

He used to be a state prosecutor,

but why did he have the dream of building his own penitentiary?

- (in Korean)

NARRATOR: The capital Seoul is a pulsating

ten-million-people-strong metropolis.

The working world is strictly hierarchical

and 15-hour working days are the norm.

The inmates are escaping this stress here.

- (metal dings, echoes)

NARRATOR: And so that this really works,

the hotel manager and the boss's wife lock Nam-Eun and the others in.

At 5pm on the dot, the doors are bolted shut.

Owner Kwon also lets himself get locked in, by his own wife.

Isn't that a bit strange... locking up your own husband?

- (in Korean)

(curious music)

NARRATOR: For the next 21 hours,

Nam-Eun will stay in this five-square-metre small room,

without any connection to the outside world,

without any distractions, in complete silence.

Will he really feel better tomorrow?

In a way, he wants to force himself to let go of the hectic city life

and finally relax.

- (indistinct chatter)

- (birds tweet)

NARRATOR: Just before six in the morning...

We have arranged to meet here, but everything seems to be shut.

But manager Min-Ho is already up, so that he can wake the inmates.

There is no sleeping in here at the anti-stress prison.

But at least Min-Ho wakes everybody gently. He does so on purpose.

- (in Korean)

(gentle classical music plays)

NARRATOR: For Nam-Eun, the morning begins with making tea

and meditation exercise.

How he is feeling, we don't know.

He is and will be without contact to the outside world

for a while longer.

We look around a bit more.

Owner Kwon has created a real oasis of peace here

for two million dollars.

Only in the kitchen there is life.

It seems to be time for breakfast soon

but the food on offer looks VERY healthy...

Rice porridge with spicy cucumber and pickled vegetables.

And the portions are pretty small, for a reason!

- (in Korean)

(upbeat music)

NARRATOR: Breakfast is served by the boss's wife

through a small opening in the door.

- (in Korean, quietly)

NARRATOR: Another four hours are ahead of the inmates...

of doing nothing!

Can this really lift a person's mood, being locked up for 21 hours?

- (metal dings, echoes)

NARRATOR: At 2pm, the doors are opened.

The inmates go outside immediately.

CAMERAWOMAN:

(birds tweeting)

NARRATOR: The first fresh air after 21 hours inside a tiny room.

NAM-EUN:

(gentle music)

NARRATOR: And exactly that is the concept of the prison...

When you make over-worked people calm down

and cut them off from the outside world,

they are forced to concentrate on the essential things.

- (in Korean)

(laughs)

(upbeat music) - (all laugh)

NARRATOR: They have three hours before it's back into the cells.

And they spend the time gardening... voluntarily!

Even weeding the potato fields seems to make them happy...

- (in Korean)

NARRATOR: Happy or not, at 5pm, it's back to the cells.

The inmates pay about 130 dollars

for two nights and three days.

A prison for de-stressing and to become happy...

at least for the over-worked Koreans it seems to be working.

NARRATOR: Our journey continues off the coast of Nagasaki.

It is five o'clock in the morning.

Captain Boba San is getting his boat ready

for a trip to the former coal island Gunkanjima.

Whenever the rough seas permit it,

he takes the historian Doutoku Sakamoto back to his former home.

- (in Japanese)

(curious music)

NARRATOR: 40 years ago, about 5,000 people inhabited the island,

which is as big as eight football fields.

But one day, the residents had to leave the island.

Visiting his former home is always difficult for Doutoku.

- (in Japanese)

(tense music)

NARRATOR: The abandoned houses in the north of the island

have been in danger of collapsing for ten years.

Therefore, access is strictly prohibited.

Visitors may only go to the south of the island.

We try to land in the south of Gunkanjima.

But no chance! The waves are simply too high.

(tense music)

NARRATOR: But Doutoku knows a secret mooring place

on the north side, in the restricted zone.

Here, the sea is much calmer.

Doutoku wants to walk to the south from here.

(sombre music)

NARRATOR: We accompany him and film without an official permit.

The Japanese call it 'the island of ghosts'.

Doutoku tries to calm the ghosts of the town

with holy water and a prayer.

He is the only former resident

who is allowed to enter the exclusion zone.

And also, the only person that wants to.

For the others, it is too sad... and too creepy.

For decades, typhoons are sweeping over the unprotected island

and the water masses are slowly washing everything away.

(eerie music)

- (in Japanese)

(sombre music)

NARRATOR: The ruins of a once flourishing mining town

with over 5,000 inhabitants, a school and a hospital.

- (in Japanese)

NARRATOR: Doutoku is fighting for the recognition of the island

by UNESCO as a world heritage site...

a memorial against exploitation of resources.

We leave Gunkanjima and travel on to Bangkok.

At 17 million visitors per year,

it is THE metropolis of South East Asia.

The many temples of the city are part of every sightseeing tour

and a visit to the infamous Khao Sao Road is an absolute must.

But we are looking for Bangkok's most notorious attraction...

The Ghost Tower.

(dramatic music)

At one of the best addresses in Bangkok,

the Sathorn Unique Tower stands at 49 stories high.

But why is there a haunted house

in one of the most expensive areas of the mega city?

- (in Thai)

NARRATOR: The haunted tower has a twin

that houses mainly luxury apartments and offices,

and was also used as a set

for the Hollywood blockbuster Hangover 2.

(lively music)

NARRATOR: The ghost tower itself is still just the shell.

It is closed off and guarded around the clock.

Still, many try to access it somehow.

The sign clearly states...

photography, filming and entering... strictly prohibited.

But why is the 185-metre high apartment building

in one of the best areas empty?

- (in Thai)

NARRATOR: In 1997, Thailand experienced

a serious economic crisis

and dragged the surrounding countries down with it.

The Thai Baht lost 40 percent of its value

within a very short period of time.

More than 300 building sites in Bangkok ground to a halt back then.

The ghost tower was one of them.

We are meeting a couple that prefer not to be recognised.

They have found a way into the tower.

(tense music)

NARRATOR: As it seems to be tolerated at the moment,

we enter the carcass of the building.

But soon we face the next obstacle... steel doors.

The view of Bangkok from above

is what drives the two adrenaline junkies up to the top.

The pictures will later be uploaded to Facebook as proof.

The couple are in luck.

With a ladder, they can bypass the steel doors.

(indistinct chatter)

NARRATOR: But they aren't completely comfortable, as in these shafts,

five men are said to have died during the construction...

"Bring water"... a good tip.

The pair have brought two bottles per person.

Not even halfway, and the adventurers

have already worked up quite a sweat.

But for this view, it is all worth it.

- (panting)

NARRATOR: But they don't take a lot of time to rest.

It is too eerie in the dark stairwell.

MAN: Come after me. WOMAN: I feel like... I'm scared.

A Swedish guy committed suicide here on this floor

In the night, when one photographer went up there,

and... took a photo, and on his way down,

he smelled something and he sort of followed the smell

and he said that he heard or he felt something calling him

so he... walked on the floor,

and then, that's how he...

found the body.

NARRATOR: As if this wasn't enough, the young woman tells us

that the tower was built on an old graveyard.

The legend says that the ghosts of the dead still haunt the building.

Therefore the name, 'Ghost Tower'.

(tense music)

NARRATOR: Even though the two don't really believe in ghosts,

the countless horror stories that they have heard about this place

do give them the creeps.

But then, it is finally done.

The ascent took a whole 45 minutes...

Will the tower ever be finished?

No one knows, as the building shows some serious construction defects

that would make a further development extremely expensive.

Therefore, the Ghost Tower of Bangkok

will probably stay this way for some years to come.

But it should definitely NOT be climbed!

Iceland. The remote volcanic island in the icy sea

has the reputation of producing the strongest humans on earth,

and this since the age of the Vikings.

With the successes of their strongmen,

the Icelanders have proved that they are true giants.

What are they doing different to the others?

We set out to discover this secret.

We are in the so-called Nest of Giants.

The owner, Magnus Ver Magnusson,

is four times the winner of the title Strongest Man in the World.

- There's no point in giving these crazy guys new equipment.

(chuckles) They'll make it look old very fast.

I'm actually a mechanic welder.

That's what I learned as a profession,

so, uh... I know how to build stuff

out of metal, wood, whatever.

NARRATOR: This here has nothing to do with a gym as we know it.

Here, only "training equipment for real men" can be found...

made from steel and concrete.

As big and as heavy as possible.

- So, I designed this thing...

..to look like a mooring pin. - (metal scrapes)

- You have to pick this up, and...

..and walk with it."

(rock music)

- The only way to, uh...

..you know, basically make it,

and get to be a good strongman and everything,

I believe is, you know, you have to have that hard-core gym,

the hard-core surroundings.

But it doesn't matter how you dress...

It's how much you lift.

# SERGEI PROKOFIEV: Dance of the Knights #

NARRATOR: Iceland's giants train daily at Magnus's gym.

- This is Ari Gunnarsson.

He is another strongman here.

- So, this is the Mecca of strongmen. Here we go to train.

NARRATOR: Ari is a professional heavy athlete,

and is officially among the strongest men in Iceland,

therefore, also in the world.

He only trains here.

Nowhere else is there a studio of this kind

that is especially equipped for the strongman disciplines.

- The human body is an amazing thing.

We push it to the limits.

NARRATOR: This competitive discipline

is called the Farmers Walk.

Ari has to walk as far as possible, as quickly as possible,

with two huge 150kg weights in his hands.

Then, it is the cameraman's turn.

- Now, do you want to try it? (camerawoman chuckles)

NARRATOR: Challenge accepted. 150 kilos per hand.

No problem for the 2-metre tall cameraman, right?

When the professionals do it, it looks so easy...

- (shouting & laughter)

NARRATOR: At least he earns Ari's respect.

But back to the pros...

They are currently training for the next world championship.

- We are only 330,000, and we have eight World's Strongest Man titles.

I think that's pretty unique.

(lively music)

NARRATOR: The extremely tough training

and the high level of performance at the Giants' Nest

makes the Icelanders so strong.

But this could be applicable to strongmen in other countries, too.

We want to understand more precisely

what is behind the incredible strength of the Icelanders.

(lively music)

NARRATOR: We ask around in Iceland's capital, Reykjavik.

The question: What makes you so strong?

- (wind blows loudly)

NARRATOR: On a building site, we get another tip...

- Eat meat and work... every day.

- We are Vikings! We are Vikings! CAMERAWOMAN: Yeah.

- The most typical answer would be that we are, like... Vikings.

NARRATOR: Many Icelanders still see themselves as Vikings.

We want to find out more about this and arrange to meet Magnus.

He takes us to an especially mythical place...

- It's, uh... It's like a sacred place.

And, uh, there's a big rock.

We always go there and pay our respects.

NARRATOR: Magnus leads us to a remote graveyard,

one hour away from Reykjavik.

Here, a famous Viking is said to be buried.

- Iceland was a very hard country to settle in,

and to... you know, live in.

You know, only the strongest and toughest survived.

The other ones died.

And I think that's one of the heritage

that makes... Icelandic people strong.

- Do you also recognise yourself as a Viking still, or...?

- I'm... I'm... I'm a Viking, yes.

Everybody that's, you know, comes from a...

..long, old families,

they come from a Viking.

(curious music)

NARRATOR: A real Viking was also Iceland's first famous strongman.

- To me and many others...

you know, Jon Pall Sigmarsson was, like, the pioneer

for Icelanders in World's Strongest Man and in the Strongman.

JON SHOUTS ON FOOTAGE: I'm a Viking!

Of Iceland!

NARRATOR: He made the Icelandic Strongmen famous.

In the 1980s, he won many world championships.

- You know, I- I actually like the old...

old, traditional, kind of, Viking thing with Strongman.

They were lifting big rocks, er...

And even in the olden days over here,

when you had to go to be a fisherman,

you had to prove yourself.

They had, you know, a couple of rocks laying around

and if you couldn't lift the big rock,

you were not allowed on the boat.

CAMERAWOMAN: Mm-hmm. - You couldn't become a fisherman.

NARRATOR: To summarise, Viking culture

and the hard living conditions on the harsh volcanic island

make the Icelanders strong.

But what does this mean for the daily lives of the men?

We are allowed to accompany strongman Ari to his job.

WOMAN: Ari, didn't you forget the jacket?

- No! This is fine weather.

We are supposed to be Vikings in Iceland,

so this is good weather for me.

NARRATOR: Ari may be one of the strongest men in the world

but unfortunately, he can't make a living from it.

- It would be a dream come true if I just lived on Strongman.

But it is very hard in Iceland.

Such a small country and small population, so... (sighs)

it's... it is what it is. You just have to do it.

NARRATOR: Being a strong man in Iceland

doesn't only cost a lot of strength, but also a lot of money.

And for this Ari has to, like any other person, work.

His super strength here is only good for the amusement of his colleagues.

- This is the best time of the day for her.

- Yeah. (laughs) - Gets to see the MUSCLE! Yeah!

- (laughing) Woohoo.

- She always hangs out here waiting for me.

NARRATOR: The giant works as a lifeguard

at a small swimming pool in the centre of Reykjavik.

His job? To sit at the side of the pool for ten hours,

and watch the swimmers.

- My life is pretty simple. I work here and as a doorman.

I have three kids and a wife. It is just a simple ring.

And I... And I do...

See, I like what I do."

NARRATOR: Ari's highlight in eight years...

he once saved a man from drowning.

But mostly, he tells us, it is very quiet here.

At least he can recuperate here.

The hard training and the competition

don't pass by the giant without leaving their marks.

- I tore my back when I was doing a bench press.

I tore it, and it's...

I got a big hole here.

And then I tore my bicep tendon here.

I was flipping a tyre.

400 kilos.

And I had to go to surgery and recover from that.

So, it's not always sunshine.

But... you know, you have to step down,

you have to recover from it,

you have to work through the injuries

and then just come back and fight again."

NARRATOR: Ari doesn't only have the strength

to lift hundreds of kilograms of steel,

but also the willpower to do so,

and a stoic tranquillity about him.

Is there something else behind the strength of the Icelanders?

- Probably just good food. Natural food.

- Lysi. Drink Lysi.

- Probably because of the Lysi.

Lysi? Is that a secret magic potion?

It's the, uh... Icelandic Lysi?

This is Lysi.

This is made out of, like, uh... the liver.

This is cod liver Lysi.

A full day vitamin shot. Like that.

(lively music)

NARRATOR: And many Icelanders have it every day.

It's made from the livers of cod and other species of fish.

It contains a lot of nutrients,

especially iodine and high quantities of vitamin A and D.

It is very good for the immune system... and a strong body.

(gentle music)

NARRATOR: In the evening, we are invited to Ari's house

to have dinner with him and his family.

In order to keep his body as strong as it is,

the giant has to consume up to 10,000 calories per day.

That is about 75 pork chops.

We are sceptical if he can really achieve this

all purely with a healthy diet...

- Steroids of course help.

But, uh, we all are in very good shape.

No illnesses.

- (children chatter indistinctly)

- So... You can always...

You know, people always play the steroid card so easily.

But people don't know how this works.

NARRATOR: Heavy athletes, time after time,

have to battle with doping accusations.

Ari distances himself from this.

If that really is the truth, we cannot tell.

At least he has a reason...

Strongman records, personal records, gym...

doesn't mean anything. This- This matters...

It means everything in life.

I'd never risk my health.

Imagine them growing up without me.

NARRATOR: Ari's explanation for his superhuman strength?

- So, it's a combination of many things, but...

mostly you train, eat, sleep...

..and work. (chuckles)

(gentle guitar music)

NARRATOR: So the sheer strength of the Icelanders has many reasons.

- Yeah. True Viking. Viking power!

(upbeat music)

NARRATOR: The concentration of strongmen,

the incredibly hard training,

the gravitas of the Viking tradition,

the isolation, the harsh living conditions in Iceland,

as well as the amazing willpower of its giants

to go right up to their personal boundaries,

makes the Icelanders invincible.

We leave the isle of the strongmen and travel on to China...

The province of Xinjiang

covers an area of 1.6 million square kilometres.

In the capital, Urumqi, we are asking about a mysterious picture.

- (in Chinese)

(upbeat music)

NARRATOR: We head off in a north-westerly direction.

Three hours later, we arrive in Anjihai.

At the edge of the town, a huge canyon.

And from about a height of 300 metres,

the picture that we are looking for....

(exciting music)

NARRATOR: Huge fields of countless chillies.

But what are the spicy pods doing here, in the middle of nowhere?

And who brought them here?

20 kilometres on, instead of a barren stony desert, chilli fields.

It is autumn and therefore time for the harvest.

China is the biggest producer of chilies.

60 million tonnes per year.

That's about 46 percent of the global chilli production.

Most of them come from remote regions such as Xinjiang.

(lively music)

NARRATOR: Ma Weiqiang is the boss here.

The 28-year-old is responsible for ten fields

with a total size of 130,000 square metres.

It is the biggest farm in the town.

- (in Chinese)

(dramatic music)

NARRATOR: The harvester is only borrowed.

The price of 50,000 dollars to buy their own

is simply too high for most farmers.

- (in Chinese)

NARRATOR: 110 horsepower and 3.6 metres of cutting width.

10,000 square metres of field in only one hour.

(lively music)

NARRATOR: But after just half an hour,

everything suddenly comes to a halt.

The harvester has broken down.

Very bad news for Ma Weiqiang.

If he doesn't manage to harvest in time,

the chillies lose spiciness, and consequently, he loses money.

The problem? In the small town there are only 30 machines in total

and all the farmers need to harvest at the same time.

- (in Chinese)

(dramatic music)

narrator: His last chance, his farmer friends.

Crisis meeting in a close by restaurant.

Because there are so many Muslims in the region,

everything on the menu is halal.

The speciality of the house...

Uyghur chicken with, of course, lots of chilli.

The hot paprika is the most used spice in the world.

Chilli powder or homemade chilli paste,

in this restaurant there is not one dish without the spicy pod.

- (in Chinese)

NARRATOR: Dinner among farmers. Ma Weiqiang asks for help.

Another four of his ten fields

still need to be harvested as quickly as possible.

Luckily, his friend is prepared to lend him

some migrant workers tomorrow.

The solidarity among the farmers is strong.

- (in Chinese)

(upbeat music)

NARRATOR: 9am in one of Ma Weiqiang's fields...

The migrant workers have already been harvesting for three hours...

..by hand.

20 workers reap a field of 10,000 square meters in two days.

In comparison, for the harvesting machine, it only takes one hour.

The advantage? This way, fewer chillies are destroyed

and the yield is higher.

Unfortunately, the farmers can only employ

a certain number of migrant workers.

The reason? Political disputes

with the Chinese government in the region.

Xinjiang is regarded as a conflict area in China.

Still, Li comes here from her home village,

2,000 kilometres away, in order to make money.

She can pick up to 300 kilos per day.

- (in Chinese)

NARRATOR: 12 o'clock. Lunchtime.

As it is too far to go into town,

Ma Weiqiang supplies his workers with food right on the field.

He is very grateful that his friend has let him borrow his workforce.

Otherwise, he could've lost a lot of money.

The first part of the chilli harvest is completed.

- (in Chinese)

(dramatic music)

NARRATOR: After the harvest, the chillies go on a small trip,

20 kilometres along the B-road.

Already, along the side of the road, everything is red.

Everything here is about chillies.

About an hour later, arrival at the Anjihai Canyon.

Every couple of minutes, a fully loaded tractor arrives.

- (man shouts)

NARRATOR: Migrant workers continuously unload them

with pitchforks for ten hours per day.

Among them, Miaoshu.

The 58-year-old owns a chilli farm himself.

- (in Chinese)

NARRATOR: The number of chilli farms has doubled in the last years.

On the one hand, the farmers can support each other.

On the other, the growing supply is making the prices drop.

(fast-paced music)

NARRATOR: Hundreds of workers spread the pods out on the ground.

The desert climate dries the chillies quickly

and makes them keep for longer.

But there is one more problem...

the harvester can't remove the stems from the fruit.

They have to go. Otherwise, the chillies can't be sold.

But the laborious manual labour

doesn't ruin most of the workers' appetites.

- (in Chinese)

NARRATOR: Now the chillies have to dry on the hot ground for ten days.

Every two days, the workers shift them about.

While doing so, great care needs to be taken

as they may not contain any moisture anymore.

(tense music)

Farm owner Ma Weiqiang regularly checks

that his workers are doing a good job.

After all, his yearly income is laid out here.

In this year, the yield was almost 1000 kilos.

That makes about 150,000 dollars.

A lot of money in this region.

- (in Chinese)

NARRATOR: Now we know what these red fields are.

Each year, about 200,000 tonnes of chillies

are produced in this region.

Lots of it ends up in factories,

and then goes to supermarkets all over the world

as chilli powder, paste or as sauce.

Because the spice is growing ever more popular.

(dramatic music)

Subtitles by Sky Access Services