Welcome to the Arts of North Korea Digital Exhibit
This online exhibit presents the creative and visual arts of North Korea (and Korea as a whole).
It highlights selected artworks as well as North Korea’s perspectives on the arts and art history.
This exhibit centers on English publications obtained from North Korea.
It highlights selected artworks as well as North Korea’s perspectives on the arts and art history.
This exhibit centers on English publications obtained from North Korea.
“The policy of the Workers’ Party of Korea on Korean literature and art”
Korean literature and art have developed rapidly since the August 15th Liberation. This achievement is attributed to
the literature and art policy established by the Workers’ Party of Korea (Chosŏn Nodongdang), promoting “strict adherence
to the principles of Marxism-Leninism on aesthetics and in the creative application of these principles to the reality of Korea”
(Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, 1958, p. 314).
the literature and art policy established by the Workers’ Party of Korea (Chosŏn Nodongdang), promoting “strict adherence
to the principles of Marxism-Leninism on aesthetics and in the creative application of these principles to the reality of Korea”
(Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, 1958, p. 314).
Fatherland
oil painting (Song of General Kim Il Sung, 1968) |
For the development of Korean literature and art, the first principle emphasizes the Leninist Party principles and the education of the people on the ideology of the working class. Literature and art were to educate the people in patriotism and proletarian internationalism and remold them into new socialists while also removing capitalist ideas. This principle is part of the goal of successfully implementing an “anti-imperialist, anti-feudal democratic revolution throughout the country—and for the building of a communist society” (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, 1958, p. 315).
The third principle instructs writers and artists to develop their national cultural traditions further. They are also to loosely introduce the cultures of the Soviet Union and other advanced countries. To further elaborate, the Party rejects “the anti-foreign tendency under the pretext of upholding the national classics,” but also “the blind worship of culture of the advanced countries neglecting our traditions” (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, 1958, p. 319).
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The second principle of the policy encourages writers and artists to have a world perspective of Marxism-Leninism. Marxist-Leninist aesthetics assert that “no true art can be expected unless it is rooted in the life of popular masses,” therefore encouraging writers and artists to study real-life during the period of peaceful reconstruction of the country (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, 1958, p. 317-318). Writers and artists were asked to correctly reflect the truth of life in their works, having no toleration for concealment, embellishment, exaggeration, or distortion.
The fourth principle is a statement against the “reactionary bourgeois ideology” of the U.S. imperialists, as “nihilism, cosmopolitanism, naturalism, formalism, man-hatred or pornography,” are viewed as hostile to their revolutionary literary and art traditions (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, 1958, p. 319).
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With the policies and guidelines established by the Workers’ Party of Korea,
writers and artists are “firmly upholding the banner of socialist realism”
(Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, 1958, p. 320).
About the North Korean Special CollectionThe North Korean Special Collection is a part of the Korean Collection located at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Hamilton Library. It is one of the largest North Korean collections in the U.S., consisting of over 3,000 items published in North Korea from the 1940s. These items are considered vital resources for understanding North Korea, a closed-off country from the rest of the world, producing only a limited amount of information. The collection includes materials in 한글(Hangul/Korean) and English.
The Arts of North Korea digital exhibit was curated by MLISc student Brianna Nakano as a part of UH Mānoa's LIS 690 Library Internship Program. Thomas Hale Hamilton Library 2550 McCarthy Mall Honolulu, HI 96822 |
Have any feedback or questions about this exhibit?Feel free to leave us a message!
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© 2021 Asia Collection, Thomas Hale Hamilton Library, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa