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'{{more footnotes|date=January 2013}} [[File:North Korea-Pyongyang Embroidery Institute-01.jpg|thumb|240px|At the Pyongyang Embroidery Institute]] [[File:Pins aus Nordkorea.jpg|thumb|240px|Lapel pins from North Korea]] The contemporary '''culture of North Korea''' is based on traditional [[Culture of Korea|Korean culture]], but developed since the establishment of [[North Korea|Democratic People's Republic]] in 1948. ''[[Juche]]'''s ideology asserts [[Korea]]'s cultural distinctiveness and creativity as well as the productive powers of the working masses. [[Korean art|Art]] in North Korea is primarily didactic; 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 the Japanese and the Americans, are depicted negatively as imperialists; revolutionary heroes and heroines are seen as saintly figures who act from the purest of motives. The three most consistent themes are martyrdom during the revolutionary struggle (depicted in literature such as ''[[Sea of Blood|The Sea of Blood]]''), the happiness of the present society, and the genius of the leader. [[Kim Il-sung]] himself is described as a writer of "classical masterpieces" during the anti-Japanese struggle. 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." A 1992 newspaper report describes Kim in semi-retirement as writing [[With the Century|his memoirs]]—"a heroic epic dedicated to the freedom and happiness of the people." The population has little or 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. During the 1980s and the early 1990s, the North Korean media gave [[Kim Jong-il]] credit for working ceaselessly to make the country a "kingdom of art" where a cultural renaissance unmatched in other countries was taking place. Indeed, the younger Kim was personally responsible for cultural policy. [[Pyongyang|P'yŏngyang]] and other large cities offer the broadest selection of cultural expression. "Art propaganda squads" travel to production sites in the provinces to perform poetry readings, one-act plays, and songs in order to "congratulate workers on their successes" and "inspire them to greater successes through their artistic agitation." Such squads are prominent in the countryside during the harvest season and whenever "speed battles" to increase productivity are held. ==Guidance and control== The state and the [[Korean Workers' Party]] control the production of literature and art. 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 party exercises control over culture through its [[Propaganda and Agitation Department]] and the [[Culture and Arts Department]] of the KWP's [[Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea|Central Committee]]. The KWP's [[General Federation of Korean Literature and Arts Unions]], the parent body for all literary and artistic organizations, also directs cultural activity. ==Cultural expression== A central theme of cultural expression is to take the best from the past and discard capitalist elements. Popular, vernacular styles and themes in literature, art, music, and dance are esteemed as expressing the truly unique spirit of the Korean nation. Ethnographers devote much energy to restoring and reintroducing cultural forms that have the proper proletarian or folk spirit and that encourage the development of a collective consciousness. Lively, optimistic musical and choreographic expression are stressed. Group folk dances and choral singing are traditionally practiced in some but not all parts of Korea and were being promoted throughout North Korea in the early 1990s among school and university students. Farmers' musical bands have also been revived. ==Literature, music, and film== {{Main|North Korean literature|Cinema of North Korea|Music of North Korea}} [[File:HamhungOpera.jpg|thumb|240px|The [[Hamhŭng]] Grand Theatre, one of the biggest in North Korea, completed in 1984.]] Literature and music are other venues for expressing the country's ideology. A series of historical novels—''Pulmyouui yoksa'' (''[[Immortal History]]'')—depict the heroism and tragedy of the preliberation era. The [[Korean War]] is the theme of ''[[Korea Fights]]'' and ''[[The Burning Island (North Korean film)|The Burning Island]]''. Since the late 1970s, five "great revolutionary plays" have been promoted as prototypes of the party's literature: ''[[The Shrine for a Tutelary Deity]]'', a theatrical rendition of ''The Flower Girl'', ''[[Three Men, One Party]]'', ''[[A Letter from a Daughter]]'', and ''Hyolbun mangukhoe'' (''[[Resentment at the World Conference]]''). [[Korean revolutionary opera]], derived from traditional Korean operas, known as ''ch'angguk'', often utilize variations on Korean [[folk songs]]. Old fairy tales have also been transformed to include revolutionary themes. As part of the party's policy of preserving the best from Korea's past, moreover, premodern vernacular works such as the ''Sasong kibong'' (''[[Encounter of Four Persons]]'') and the ''Ssangch'on kibong'' (''[[Encounter at the Two Rivers]]'') have been reprinted. Musical compositions include the "[[Song of General Kim Il Sung]]", "Long Life and Good Health to the Leader," and "We Sing of His Benevolent Love"—[[hymns]] that praise the nation's leader. Another song such as these - called "Ten Million Human Bombs for Kim Il Sung" - is played at seven 'o-clock each morning. According to a North Korean writer,{{Who|date=July 2010}} "Our musicians have pursued the party's policy of composing orchestral music based on famous songs and folk songs popular among our people and produced numerous instrumental pieces of a new type." This music includes a [[symphony]] based on the theme of ''The Sea of Blood'', which has also been made into a revolutionary opera. In February 2008, The [[New York Philharmonic Orchestra]] became the first US orchestra [[2008 New York Philharmonic visit to North Korea|to perform in North Korea]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/02/26/nyphilharmonic.nkorea/index.html |title=Americans in Pyongyang Perform |accessdate=26 February 2008 |work=CNN | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080227042528/http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/02/26/nyphilharmonic.nkorea/index.html| archivedate = 27 February 2008}}</ref> albeit for a handpicked "invited audience."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ben-rosen/letter-from-north-korea-_b_88413.html |title=Letter From North Korea – Update |accessdate=1 December 2008 |author=Ben Rosen |work=Huffington Post |date=25 February 2008}}</ref> The concert was broadcast on national television.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKSEO3031620080226 |title=Musical diplomacy as New York Phil plays Pyongyang| publisher=Reuters| date=26 February 2008}}</ref> The [[Christian rock]] band [[Casting Crowns]] played at the annual Spring Friendship Arts Festival in April 2007, held in Pyongyang.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cmspin.com/newsmanager/anmviewer.asp?a=4222&z=26 |title=Casting Crowns Performs in North Korea |accessdate=16 November 2010 |work=CMSpin}}</ref> [[Film|Motion pictures]] are recognized as "the most powerful medium for educating the masses" and play a central role in social education. According to a North Korean source, "films for children contribute to the formation of the rising generation, with a view to creating a new kind of man, harmoniously evolved and equipped with well-founded knowledge and a sound mind in a sound body."{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}} One of the most influential films, ''[[An Jung-geun Shoots Ito Hirobumi]]'', tells of the assassin who killed the Japanese resident-general in Korea in 1909. An is depicted as a courageous patriot, but one whose efforts to liberate Korea were frustrated because the masses had not been united under "[[Kim Il-sung|an outstanding leader who enunciates a correct guiding thought and scientific strategy and tactics.]]" Folk tales such as "[[The Tale of Chun Hyang]]", about a nobleman who marries a servant girl, and "[[The Tale of Ondal]]" have also been made into films. Australian filmmaker [[Anna Broinowski]] gained access to North Korea's film industry through British filmmaker Nick Bonner, who facilitated meetings between Broinowski and prominent North Korean filmmakers to assist Broinowski with the production of ''[[Aim High in Creation!]]'', a film project based on [[On the Art of the Cinema|Kim Jong-il's manifesto]]. Broinowski explained in July 2013, prior to the screening of the film at the [[Melbourne International Film Festival]]: <blockquote> A friend gave me Kim Jong Il's manifesto on how to make the 'perfect socialist film', The Cinema and Directing (1987). I was immediately fascinated by his often counter-intuitive (for a Westerner at least) filmmaking rules. And I began to wonder: what would a film by Westerners, strictly adhering to Kim Jong Il's rules, be like? Could it have the same power over western audiences that North Korean films have over Kim Jong Il's 23 million citizens? ... I wanted to humanise the North Koreans in the minds of viewers constantly bombarded by the mainstream Western media's depiction of North Koreans as victimised, brainwashed automatons.<ref name="Anna">{{cite web|title=Q&A with Anna Broinowski (Aim High in Creation!)|url=http://miff.com.au/annabroinowski|work=Melbourne International Film Festival|publisher=Melbourne International Film Festival|accessdate=29 July 2013|date=July 2013}}</ref></blockquote> A version of Broinowski's work was screened in Pyongyang, but the director believes that the documentary version of the film will not be allowed into the country.<ref name="Anna" /> A study commissioned by the [[United States Department of State|U. S. State Department]] shows that, despite extremely strict regulations and draconian penalties, North Koreans, particularly elite elements, have increasing access to news and other media outside the state-controlled media authorized by the government.<ref name="intermedia"/> 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.<ref name="intermedia">{{cite web|title=A Quiet Opening: North Koreans in a Changing Media Environment |url=http://audiencescapes.org/sites/default/files/A_Quiet_Opening_FINAL_InterMedia.pdf|publisher=InterMedia|accessdate=19 Jan 2013| first1=Nat |last1=Kretchun |first2=Jane |last2=Kim |date=10 May 2012|quote=The primary focus of the study was on the ability of North Koreans to access outside information from foreign sources through a variety of media, communication technologies and personal sources. The relationship between information exposure on North Koreans’ perceptions of the outside world and their own country was also analyzed.}}</ref><ref name=WPUSSTATE>{{cite news|title=Illicit access to foreign media is changing North Koreans' worldview, study says|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/illicit-access-to-foreign-media-is-changing-north-koreans-worldview-study-says/2012/05/10/gIQAnwMpEU_story.html|accessdate=10 May 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=10 May 2012|agency=Associated Press|deadurl=yes}}{{dead link|date=April 2013}}</ref> A South Korean professor claimed that the spread of cheap, Chinese-made "portable TVs" ([[Enhanced Versatile Disc|EVD]] players) in North Korea is making it harder for authorities to crack down on citizens watching South Korean-made videos.<ref>{{cite news|title=Spread of portable EVD players fueling ‘Korean wave’ in N. Korea|url=http://www.koreaobserver.com/spread-portable-evd-players-fueling-korean-wave-n-korea-8364/|accessdate=22 October 2013|newspaper=The Korea Observer|date=22 October 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/asia/article3918883.ece North Korea: 80 executed for ‘watching illegal television programmes’] The Times, 13 November 2013, Internet copy retrieved with subscription 13 December 2013</ref> [[Uriminzokkiri]] is a Korean news website that frequently posts propaganda including the United States attack video published in 2013.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/9849231/North-Korea-video-shows-US-city-under-attack.html |title=Video: North Korea video shows US city under attack |publisher=Telegraph |date=5 February 2013 |accessdate=8 March 2013 |location=London}}</ref> ==Architecture and city planning== <!-- This section is linked from the redirect "Architecture of North Korea"; if the section heading changes, please update the redirect accordingly. --> {{See also|Korean architecture}} [[File:Ryugyong Hotel 4 Sep 2011.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Ryugyong Hotel]] in 2011.]] The most distinct and impressive form of contemporary cultural expression in North Korea is architecture and city planning. [[Pyongyang|P'yongyang]], almost completely destroyed by the [[United States]] during the [[Korean War]], has been rebuilt on a grand scale. Many new buildings have been constructed during the 1980s and 1990s in order to enhance P'yongyang's status as a capital. Major structures are divided architecturally into three categories: monuments, buildings that combine traditional Korean architectural motifs and modern construction, and high-rise buildings of a modern design. Examples of the first include the [[Chollima|Ch'ollima]] Statue; a twenty-meter high bronze statue of Kim Il-sung in front of the [[Museum of the Korean Revolution]] (itself, at 240,000 square meters, one of the largest structures in the world); the [[Arch of Triumph (Pyongyang)|Arch of Triumph]] (similar to [[Arc de Triomphe|its Parisian counterpart]], although a full ten meters higher); and [[Juche Tower|Chuch'e Tower]], 170 meters high, built on the occasion of Kim's seventeenth [[Day of the Sun|birthday]] in 1982. The second architectural category makes special use of traditional tiled roof designs and includes the [[People's Culture Palace]] and the [[Grand People's Study House]], both in P'yongyang, and the [[International Friendship Exhibition Hall]] at [[Myohyang-san]]. The latter building displays gifts given to Kim Il-sung by foreign dignitaries. In light of North Korea's current close relationship to China, and during the [[Choson Dynasty]], it is significant that the section of the hall devoted to gifts from China is the largest. The third architectural category includes high-rise apartment complexes and hotels in the capital. The most striking of these buildings is the [[Ryugyong Hotel]], unfinished as of now (with construction halted from 1992 - April 2008). Described as the world's tallest hotel at 105 stories, its triangular shape looms over north-central P'yongyang. The [[Koryo Hotel]] is an ultramodern, twin-towered structure forty-five stories high. Much construction occurred before celebrations of Kim Il-sung's eightieth birthday, including the building of grand apartment complexes and the [[Reunification Expressway]], a four-lane road connecting the capital and the [[Korean Demilitarized Zone|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."{{cite quote|date=July 2010}} As in many other construction projects, the military provided the labor. North Korea has stated its hope that upon eventual reunification the highway will carry back-and-forth traffic. ==Mass games== [[Image:North korea mass games.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Arirang Festival]] mass games display in [[Pyongyang]].]] North Korea is famous for its "[[mass games]]". These are exhibitions where thousands of North Koreans perform highly choreographed dances, especially traditional dances and gymnastics, often engaging in simultaneous rhythms of movement. The performers sing and chant their loyalties to Kim il-sung, the KWP, and to the principle of Juche. ==See also== {{portal|North Korea|Culture}} * [[List of museums in North Korea]] * [[List of theatres in North Korea]] * [[List of North Korean operas]] * [[List of North Korean television series]] * [[Culture of Korea]] - covers the traditional culture of both North Korea and South Korea. * [[Korean tea ceremony]] * [[Contemporary culture of South Korea]] * [[Korean shamanism]] * [[Korean Confucianism]] * [[Korean Buddhism]] * [[Korean cuisine]] * [[Mansudae Art Troupe]] * [[Propaganda in North Korea]] * ''[[The Flower Girl]]'' - the most well-known North Korean theatrical opera and film. ==References== {{reflist}} * Original text from [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/kptoc.html LOC Country study - North Korea] (1993) ==Further reading== *{{cite book |last=Portal |first=Jane |date=2005 |title=Art Under Control in North Korea |publisher=Reaktion Books |isbn=978-1-86189-236-2}} ==External links== * [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,655483,00.html Time Magazine] * [http://koreana.kf.or.kr/pdf_file/1990/1990_SPRING_E068.pdf Article on North Korean literature] * [http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=165472#Post165472 North Korea Uncovered], [[North Korea Uncovered]] * [http://www.massgames-pictures.com/ Professional photo series of the 2009 "Arirang" Massgames in North Korea] {{Korea topics}} {{Culture of Asia}} [[Category:North Korean culture| ]] [[bn:উত্তর কোরিয়া#সংস্কৃতি]]'