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Home › Forums › Short Online Seminars › Two Koreas, Fall 2019 › Session 6 - November 19, Depictions of North Korea
Maria Blake.
cgaoHow is North Korea seen by outsiders?
Video: The Two Koreas as Depicted in Film, Literature, and Popular Culture
Readings (download below):
Jennifer Jung-KimUpdate on the 5 documentaries about North Korea:
Under the Sun does not have English subtitles and it's rather dry, but you can get quite a glimpse of North Korea
Crossing Heaven's Border is a much easier documentary to watch, but it already 10 years old (from the Kim Jong Il era)
The Lovers and the Despot shows footage of NK films, though I find the story of the directo and actess less interesting
I Am Sun Mu is behind a paywall (sorry!)
Frontline: Secret State of NK is less than an hour and quite interesting
Angelique CallicoatAgain, real interesting reads this week. I am also currently watching "Mr. Sunshine" on Netflix. It's amazing. I ended up going down the Internet Rabbit Hole last night after episode 2 in order to find out more about the Joseon Period and Dynasty and the 1871 American expedition to Korea that went horribly and tragically wrong (I think it's been called Shinmiyangyo, which translates to The Western Disturbance). I'm surprised Korea ever traded with America after our country's gross misunderstanding and violent reaction. What I'm trying to say here is that "Mr. Sunshine" is beautifully filmed and well-worth a few hours of your time. It's an excellent period drama.
Next, the excerpted chapter "The Girl with Seven Names". Was this fiction or a memoir? I appreciated getting a glimpse into what it is like to prepare for one of N. Korea's pageants, which are called "The Games". The card exercise under the threat of a "single slip" is fascinating, especially being a school teacher and understanding the challenge of coordinating lots of kids to do anything collectively and with flair. Also, I really need to know what was the item that burned up in the house fire of the main character/speaker, the thing that could have led to her family being dangerously implicated with illegal activity? The excerpt left us with quite the cliffhanger.
The North Korea Girl Band Moranbong. It's interesting that Kim Jong Un entered the K-Pop trend with his own highly political female version. And the lead singer Hyon Song Wol seems to have a personal relationship or at least an influential relationship with Kim Jung Un, considering the rumors and the delegation she led to South Korea to find a concert venue for North Korea's Art Troupe. I forget which text intimated that Kim Jong Un is trying to impress the world with not only his nuclear strength, but also his country's musical aesthetic, but I find this idea so fascinating. And I wonder if he spreading this message to his own people through propaganda.
And Jennifer, your chapter or piece about South Korean films during the Sunshine Period was a nice surprise this week. As a teacher who is currently introducing her IB diploma students to a long-term, research-based inquiry project, your chapter is a perfect example of an academic exploration of a topic through a well-organized argument structure, replete with footnotes, referenced works, and bibliography. I would like to talk more tonight about South Korean citizens' attitudes toward the US Military and its bases there in South Korea. I'm sure there's an awful lot of historical baggage when it comes to our American soldiers being stationed there. The other aspect of your paper I'd like to know more about is its exact focus. Are you looking at how S. Korean films starting changing their depictions of N. Korea BECAUSE of the Sunshine Policy or are you looking at how S. Korean films changed the way S. Korean citizens viewed N. Korea WHILE the Sunshine Policy was happening? And maybe these two directions aren't even mutually exclusive in your paper.
Looking forward to tonight's discussion.
Duane JohansenDai Sil Kim-Gibson's People are the Sky is an interesting look at life in North Korea told by a woman who is going back to visit her old homeland in the DPRK. You can order it here: https://www.wmm.com/catalog/film/people-are-the-sky/ I don't think it's available for streaming.
Billie JohnsonI can't believe we are already at week 6! The presentation this week was intriguing as the documentaries on North Korea seemed a bit one-sided and the films for South Korea look like something out of Hollywood. Ode to My Father had it all: laughter, tears, great cinematography, relateable characters, etc. I haven't been affected by a movie in a really long time. Anyway, the way North Korea is seen by outsiders is what we discussed this evening and what the clips of documentaries showed...chaotic. However, as I questioned during class, is this viewpoint on North Korea what outsiders want us to see? Even though South Korea uses balance in its approach when depicting North Korea in film or in writings it seems to be done in a way that is trying to convince the North Koreans to come towards the light. I know that this course has open my mind to the very little I knew about North Korea.
I got a kick out of North Korea's girl group. It seems like the appearance of these women would be a shock to what I think is a very conservative society. The readings this week were insightful and very much enjoyable.
Billie Johnsonhttps://www.koreasociety.org/index.php
THE KOREA SOCIETY
is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) organization with individual and corporate members that is dedicated solely to the promotion of greater awareness, understanding, and cooperation between the people of the United States and Korea.
is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) organization with individual and corporate members that is dedicated solely to the promotion of greater awareness, understanding, and cooperation between the people of the United States and Korea.
This website is informative and there are so many resources readily available for consumption.
Jennifer Jung-KimAlthough there are many, many more SK films than the ones I discuss, the ones I mentioned are:
Shiri (1999)
JSA (20)0)
Taegukgi: Brotherhood of War (2004)
Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005)
Heaven's Soldiers (2005)
These filsm came out during the period of Sunshine Policy (1998-2008).
Jennifer Jung-KimThanks, Billie. The Korea Society is a great resource. I am also attaching a file I made for K-12 educators.
Len KriegerAngelique,
I enjoyed this post you wrote here and wanted to add I think if NK wanted they could use groups like Moranbong or sports (nothing brings people together quite like sports do) to strengthen the world view of them. I doubt they'll do that because of the other agendas they have, but I do think all would be forgotten about especially in America if NK started to attempt to strenghten their worldly view.
I know they don't want to do that and want to remain known as a military power in most peoples eyes, but in this course I have learned that they have attempted to at least change their public image somewhat via collaborative efforts with other countries, not being too proudful for asking for help foodwise, and combing the NK SK Women's Hockey team.
Moranbong if used the correct way they could help promote North Korea in a positive light and I think with great success, because K-Pop is at its height of popularity and because they are very pretty ladies which definitely get the attention of the male demographics around the world for sure.
Billie JohnsonWow. With just a glance over this document it's very informative. I look forward to a deeper dive. Thank you!
Len KriegerGreetings Class,
These were my takeaways and the notes I took from Week 6 zoom session based on the questions I asked.
The great 16th century Korean Admiral who was so revered for never losing a battle, but actually DIED during his last battle. He was considered a hero in SK and had a movie made around him and his life.
98-08 show sunshine policy not trying to vilify NK and attempt to show people like us that eat junk food, drink libations together, and can be friends with one another.
North Korean cinema is not about individual stars more the message of the party. There are no comedians or comedic movies and all movies have the message that NK is victorious over imperialism. Cannot make fun of government or things we make fun of in the West.
When E. Germany collapsed, SK said they didn’t want to reunify with NK, because it would be too expensive and too economically costly. SK don’t want NK to collapse, because when it happened to Germany people flooded western part of Germany when eastside collapsed and that might happen again.
Maria BlakeIn relation to the PowerPoint presentation on the political realities of North and South Korea from 2011 until the present, there were some interesting ideas to take away that would be useful in classroom discussions about the role a government plays in society and the individual. The period the presentation covered is marked by the ruling of Kim Jong-Un, who took his father’s place after the latter passed away in 2011. Students would be interested in learning more about how governments can hold so much power over the destiny of a people, and how such an understanding necessitates a series of steps, mostly done at the diplomatic level, to ensure things do not escalate to where there is a point of no return. Students increase in their global awareness, when they engage with issues, such as the above, which can affect not only local countries but the whole world, since history has shown that failure in negotiation leads to conflicts, and in this case, what is concerning is the world, students are cognizant of, has more weapons to cause large-scale destruction.
In my view, Kim Jong-Un, the current president of North Korea, has been fortunate enough to have been the third in line to have inherited the power from his father and grandfather, who established the early foundations and sustained the later growth of the regime that he is now its leader. People, that is, have already been used to the political ideologies, learned to accept them as ideals for their life, and thus, Kim Jong-Un seems to have it easier. This kind of privilege is what seems to have given him this whimsical nature of political leadership. On the one hand, that is, Kim Jong-Un appears to conform to the international strictures about global peace and dialogue, and on the other hand, he is acting unpredictably and changing his attitude to international policies and approaches to its definition of sovereignty that has alerted the U.S. and other governments over time at what potential moves North Korea leadership is likely to take next.
This unpredictability of Kim Jong-Un’s mood and actions is evident, in fact, in the description of the events related to the history of diplomacy between North Korea and the U.S., or South Korea and other countries in the world. The reference to the quakes that alerted Japan and other neighboring countries, to begin with, is one indication of how North Korea is not easily giving up on its agenda to become a nuclear power that the world would be afraid of, since those quakes were the result of “intercontinental ballistic missiles,” launched by North Korean in its pursuit of building a strong nuclear arsenal using its local grounds for testing. The lack of firmness on the part of North Korea is further indicated, when there was a resolution to suspend nuclear tests in April of 2017, but then, just before the Singapore meeting in June of 2017, tensions and turbulence rose, which led to the U.S. calling off the meeting, before rescheduling it again. During the Singapore meeting, an agreement was made on matters related to building “a lasting peace and a stable regime on the Korean peninsula,” allowing for the procedure of “denuclearization of the Korean peninsula” to be set in motion, the unification of families to take place, and “the repatriation of those already identified [….] POW remains.” But, later in June, contrary to the earlier agreements, North Korea starts to increase “the production of fuel for nuclear weapons,” and in August of 2018, there are reports from international committee on nuclear weapons that North Korea is “expanding its nuclear capabilities,” once again. The same approach continues on with more examples of North Korea’s unpredictability, which caused concerns in the world, and particularly, China, which begins to lose patience with North Korea’s actions.
Finally, one thing becomes clear from the above: North Korea wants to stand out as an independent country that has its own history and traditions but, even though such traditions and history revitalize its connection to South Korea, the path to unification seems to be strewn with obstacles, due mostly to the differing political ideologies that prevail in each country, particularly, after the end of WWII. Students can study the context of the division between the two countries in the Korean peninsula as an example of two countries being divided on the basis of different political systems. Such a backdrop can encourage discussions on types of political governments and their role in the lifestyle of the people, which information can be studied later through the recourse to other articles, or documentaries, which elaborate on the differences between the system of communism, or dictatorship, and democracy.
Maria BlakeIn our discussion, we discussed some new ideas that were interesting and would help teach about the real implications of a country divided into half because of different political ideologies that have grown deep and have created a sense of alienation between the Koreans of the two countries. This difference has caused the world to become involved, which adds to the general idea that no country is an island and can be isolated from the world. Students take interest in conflicts and how they get resolved, or continue to exist, and influence individual and social lives.
Our ideas engaged, in short, the past, the present, and the future, and the general impression that came out from the discussion is that North Korea and South Korea are going to continue to be on different political paths, since the monarchical leadership has established the norms for government and citizenship in North Korea that has been an inheritance for years, and thus hard to dissolve. The existence of other countries that are closer to North Korea, also, in terms of political ideologies make any aspiration to unification hard to conceive. Russia and China, for instance, would not want to see North Korea become democratic. South Korea has been democratic because of its influence from Western countries, such as the U.S. The concern with the political realities in South and North Korea rests, then, in my view, in how such realities influence national and global peace. Familiarizing students with such issues help make them more responsible to global issues and proactive in their own lives, since the comparison and contrast of the two Koreas invites discussions on the terror of dictatorships and the merits of democracy, and such awareness inspires a will in students of protecting and nurturing democracy in the U.S. so that the blessings of democracy reach out the present and future generations. The death of young children due to sanctions in North Korea would make students, also, think about what is ethical, or not, in government choices and actions.
Moreover, references to past visions in our discussion, helped clarify for me how interlinked are the histories among countries in Asia, how war can change people into criminals, and how the errors of the past are hard to erase, particularly, if there were survivors and no apologies were made for mistakes of a human nature, such as the conflict with the comfort women during WWII by the Japanese military. It was shocking to hear that there were not only Chinese and Phillipinese, but also Dutch women. Survivors in South Korea seeking public statement of forgiveness from Japan is a testament to how war causes crimes that are hard to erase from the memory of the collective consciousness of a people. The power of the government to exert influence on its people and other countries is also evidence of such power, as the example of Japan and the role its government played during the WWII suggests.
Finally, what the future holds for the two Koreas is unclear but one thing is certain that dialogue will play a big role, as we also discussed. A reunification is hard for South Korea due to the economic disadvantages of North Korea, which will make it harder for North Koreans to adjust and pick up the more rapid pace of a more modern nation as is South Korea. Two video links below foreground that change will have to start from the bottom up, if change is ever to happen. The balloons are raised by common people in South Korea, who care for the common people in North Korea and their wellbeing.
The Giant Balloons Smuggling Tech into North Korea
Launching Baloons in North Korea