Culture of North Korea
[1] Art in North Korea is primarily didactic, where cultural expression serves as an instrument for inculcating Juche ideology and the need to continue the struggle for revolution and reunification of the Korean Peninsula.
Foreign governments and citizens, especially Americans[citation needed], are depicted negatively as imperialists; while revolutionary heroes and heroines are seen as saintly figures who act from pure motives.
The three most consistent themes are martyrdom during the revolutionary struggle (depicted in literature such as The Sea of Blood), the happiness of the present society, and the genius of the leader.
Novels created under his direction include The Flower Girl, The Sea of Blood, The Fate of a Self-Defense Corps Man, and The Song of Korea; these are considered "prototypes and models of Juche literature and art."
"[1] Due to North Korean Isolationism, the general population has little to no exposure to foreign cultural influences apart from performances by song-and-dance groups and other entertainers brought in periodically for limited audiences.
These performances, such as the Spring Friendship Art Festival held annually in April, are designed to show that the peoples of the world, like the North Koreans themselves, love and respect the country's leader.
In the early 1990s, there was no evidence of any underground anti-regime literary or cultural movements such as the samizdat in the Soviet Union or those that exist in the People's Republic of China.
The KWP's General Federation of Korean Literature and Arts Unions, the parent body for all literary and artistic organizations, also directs cultural activity.
[3] These media of paintings, songs, movies, and mass games tell the story of Kim Il Sung as the father of the nation and provides guidance on how to behave as "model citizens" of North Korea.
Popular vernacular styles and themes in literature, art, music, and dance are esteemed as they are seen as expressing the unique spirit of the Korean nation.
Ethnographers restore and reintroduce cultural forms that have a proletarian or folk spirit and that encourages the development of a collective consciousness.
[7] The Christian rock band Casting Crowns played at the annual Spring Friendship Arts Festival in April 2007, held in Pyongyang.
The protagonist is portrayed as a courageous patriot, but one whose efforts to liberate Korea were frustrated because the masses had not been united under "an outstanding leader who enunciates a correct guiding thought and scientific strategy and tactics."
[11] While access to the Internet is tightly controlled, listening to the radio and viewing DVDs is increasing, and receiving television broadcasts from neighboring states is also possible in border areas.
[13][14] Uriminzokkiri is a Korean news website that frequently posts propaganda including the United States attack video published in 2013.
[1] Much construction occurred before celebrations of Kim Il Sung's eightieth birthday, including the building of grand apartment complexes and the Reunification Highway, a four-lane road connecting the capital and the Demilitarized Zone.
According to a journalist writing in the Far Eastern Economic Review, the highway is "an impressive piece of engineering" that "cuts a straight path through mountainous terrain with 21 tunnels and 23 bridges on the 168 kilometers route to P'anmunjm."
