The culture of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is a culture based on traditional Korean culture , but has been developing since the proclamation of the DPRK in 1948 .
Juche 's ideology proclaims Korean cultural uniqueness, and also glorifies the productive forces of the working masses.
Art in the DPRK is mainly moralizing. Cultural expression serves as a tool to instill Juche ideology and the need to continue the struggle for the revolution and unification of Korea . Foreign governments, especially Japanese and American, and the citizens of these countries are negatively portrayed as “imperialists”, and revolutionary heroes and heroines are seen as holy figures who act on pure motives. In the DPRK culture, there are three main topics that are interconnected: martyrdom during the revolutionary struggle (described in such a literary work as “Sea of Blood”), the happiness of the existing society in the DPRK, and the great genius Kim Il Sung or Kim Jong Il .
Kim Il Sung spoke of himself as a writer of "classical masterpieces" during the Anti-Japanese struggle. The novels created under his leadership, such as The Flower Girl, The Sea of Blood, The Fate of the Men's Self-Defense Corps, and the Song of Korea, are all considered prototypes and models of Juche literature and Juche art. One of the 1992 newspapers published about Kim Il Sung in the form of his biographical letter, which said the following: "The heroic epic is dedicated to the freedom and happiness of the people."
The population of the DPRK is almost not subject to foreign cultural influence from the performance of song and dance groups and other artists who periodically speak to a limited audience. International performances such as the Spring Friendship Art Festival are held annually in April and are aimed mainly to show that people from all over the world, as in the DPRK itself, express love and respect for the country's national leaders. In the 1980s and early 1990s, North Korean media reported that Kim Jong Il had to work tirelessly in order to create a “kingdom of art” in the country, where the cultural renaissance would have no analogues in other countries. It is worth noting that the young Kim Jong Il was indeed personally responsible for the cultural policy of the DPRK.
Pyongyang and other major cities offer a wide range of cultural expressions. The “propaganda art brigades” travel to provincial manufacturing enterprises, where they conduct poetic readings, one-act plays and sing songs to congratulate workers on their successes and “inspire them to great feats” through artistic agitation. Such brigades occupy a prominent place in the countryside during harvesting and each time “accelerate the battle” for increasing productivity.
Content
Leadership and control
The state and the Labor Party of Korea fully control literature and art in the DPRK . In the early 1990s, it was not known about any underground anti-government literature or cultural movements such as samizdat in the USSR or those that exist in China . The party exercises control over culture through its Department of Propaganda and Agitation and the Department of Culture and Art of the Central Committee of the TPK. The main association of Korean literature TPK and art unions, which are the superior bodies of all literary and artistic organizations, also directly direct all cultural activities.
Cultural Expression
The main theme of cultural expression is the taking of all the best that was in the past and the complete rejection of any "capitalist elements." Popular and folk styles and themes in literature, art, music, dancing are welcome, because they are perceived as the unique spirit of the Korean nation . Ethnographers have devoted a great deal of time to the restoration and revival of cultural forms that have “proletarian properties” or “folk spirit” that encourage the development of collective consciousness. Music and choreography has an emphasized vibrant and optimistic mood. In the early 1990s, although not across the DPRK, there were groups of folk dances and choral singing among schoolchildren and students, which were supported and approved by the state. Rural music groups have also been restored.
Literature, Music, and Cinema
Literature and music are another way of expressing state ideology. The series of historical novels “Immortal History” ( 불멸 исторических изображ ) depicts the heroism and tragedy of the period when Korea was ruled by Japan . The Korean War is the theme of literary works such as Korea Fighting and Flaming Island. Since the late 1970s, five “great revolutionary plays” have become the prototype of party literature: “A Shrine for the Guardian Deity”, theatrical performance of such literary works as “Flower Girl”, “Three Husbands”, “One Part”, “Letter from the Daughter” and “Resentment at a World Conference” ( 혈분 만국 회 ).
Revolutionary operas come from traditional Korean operas, known as the Changyk , often use altered Korean folk songs. Old tales are also adapted to revolutionary themes. Thanks to the party’s policy of preserving all the best of the Korean past, such popular works as “An Unexpected Meeting of Four People” ( 사성 기봉 ) and “Meeting on Two Rivers” ( 쌍천 기봉 ) were reprinted .
Musical compositions, such as “Song about the commander Kim Il Sung,” “Long years and good health to the leader,” “We sing his benevolent love,” are the hymns praised by the leader of the nation. Another song, like these, entitled "Ten Million People Bomb for Kim Il Sung," sounds at seven in the morning every day. According to one North Korean writer: “Our musicians adhered to a party policy of creating orchestral music based on well-known and folk songs, popular among our people, and also produced numerous instrumental works of a new type.” This music includes a symphony based on the theme “Blood Sea” , which was also made in the style of a revolutionary opera.
Cinema is recognized as “the most powerful medium for educating the masses” and plays a major role in public education . According to a North Korean source: “films for children contribute to the formation of a younger generation with a view to creating a new person: harmoniously developed and armed with the best knowledge, adhering to the wisdom of a healthy mind in a healthy body .” One of the most influential films is “ An Chungin shoots at Ito Hirobumi ", which tells of a national hero who killed a Japanese resident general in Korea in 1909 . An Chungin is portrayed as a brave patriot, but he alone and his efforts to liberate Korea were in vain because the people were not united under the leadership of an “outstanding leader who sets out the right decisions and the right strategies and tactics.” Folk tales such as “A Tale” about Chun Hyang, ”they talk about nobles who marry maidservants, and films were shot based on the Tales of Ondal.
Architecture and Urban Planning
Distinctive features of North Korean culture are most pronounced in architecture and urban planning. Pyongyang was almost completely destroyed by American troops during the Korean War , due to which, subsequently, it was completely rebuilt. Most of the new buildings were erected in the 1980s - 1990s to enhance the status of Pyongyang as the capital of the country.
Most of the buildings, from the point of view of architecture, can be divided into three categories: monuments, buildings that combine traditional architectural Korean motifs and modern high-rise buildings. An example of the first category includes a statue of Chollim , a 12-meter bronze statue of Kim Il Sung , located in front of the Museum of the Korean Revolution , whose area is 240,000 m², it is one of the largest buildings in the world, the Arc de Triomphe , similar to the Paris one, although 10 m higher, the Monument Juche's Ideas - 170-meter monument, built on the occasion of the seventieth anniversary of Kim Il Sung in 1982 .
The second category is interesting in that it contains elements that are traditional for Korean architecture, in particular, the roofs of buildings, for example, the People’s Palace of Culture , the Central Library of Pyongyang and the International Friendship Exhibition on Mount Myojansan, which show all the gifts received by Kim Il Sung and Kim Chen Irom from foreign diplomats. The DPRK has the closest and friendliest relations with the PRC since the Joseon Dynasty , therefore, gifts from China have a separate and largest hall in the building of the International Friendship Exhibition.
The third category includes high-rise apartment buildings and hotels in Pyongyang. The most impressive building in this category is the Ryugyon Hotel , described as the tallest hotel in the world with 105 triangular floors, located in the north-central part of Pyongyang. Hotel Koryo is a two-tower building with a height of 45 floors.
Most of the buildings appeared after Kim Il Sung’s 80th birthday, including high-rise apartment buildings and the Reunification Expressway, a four-lane highway connecting Pyongyang with the demilitarized zone . According to journalists from the Far Eastern Economic Review , “this highway is an outstanding piece of engineering that shortens the direct path through the mountains, thanks to 21 tunnels and 23 bridges over the 168 km route to Panmunjom .” Like many construction projects, the DPRK armed forces are also provided with workers. The DPRK authorities argue that a possible reunification of the country will provide the highway with high traffic on both sides.
Mass Games
North Korea is known for its " mass games ." These are demonstrations where thousands of DPRK residents perform traditional and gymnastic dances in the same rhythm. The participants in these games sing and chant their love and loyalty to Kim Il Sung , the Korean Labor Party and the ideas of Juche .
See also
- Korean culture
- Culture of the Republic of Korea
- Shamanism in Korea
- Korean Confucianism
- Buddhism in Korea
- Korean food
Notes
Links
- Original text from LOC Country study - North Korea (1993)
- The official youtube channel with performances by musicians from the DPRK