Over at OpenDemocracy.Net, Jane Portal has an article that explores the role of art in North Korea: What does a totalitarian regime expect from its artists?
Among the more interesting points was that since the 1960s, North Korean art was/is informed by a philosophy called Juche:
"Juche is usually translated as "self-reliance", although the academic Dae-sook Suh describes it in practise as "nothing more than xenophobic nationalism".
This school divides art into 2 types:
"Peoples' art" reflecting the needs of the masses.
"Reactionary art" reflecting the ideology of the exploiting class.
The whole article has several interesting elements worth checking out. Portal's final sentiments are:
"...there is no uncertainty at all expressed in North Korean contemporary art, no individual hopes or expressions, no mystery. As Kim Jong-il said: "A picture must be painted in such a way that the viewer can understand its meaning. If the people who see a picture cannot grasp its meaning, no matter what a talented artist may have painted it, they cannot say it is a good picture.""
It's an interesting reminder to me, as a writer and artist, of what kind of narrow world we can live in. We'd be the poorer for it.
Thanks for sharing the information. You have discussed the importance of art in North Korea. I observed how the art education system divides into two parts as peoples art and reactionary art. This is a very informative blog. Keep updating. Along with this article, I would like to share some important facts about the hammerhead sharks habitat which were a group of sharks that form the family sphyrnidae.
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