EPEL lecture 14th June: Reading North Korean Wartime Literature
6. Juni 2018, von AAI Webmaster
As part of the EPEL lecture series, supported by the Korea Foundation, Jun. Prof. Dr. Jerôme de Wit (Universität Tübingen) will give a lecture on "Reading North Korean Wartime Literature" on 14th June, 16:00, at Asia Africa Institute, room 108.
North Korean wartime literature has never been valued highly by literary scholars. The lack of literary qualities in these wartime stories have deterred many from looking more seriously at this type of literature. Add this to the subservient role literature plays in North Korea, it is obvious why one would shy away from analysing these texts. However, even under such conditions, the writer still needs to imbue the story with sufficient literary qualities to make it interesting to its readers. This is because the author is still constrained by the fact that the novel should not stray too far from reality or else the reader will not be persuaded. The author, therefore, also needs to address issues that are politically and socially sensitive in society. Condemnation of these issues in itself is not enough: to make an ideological claim the issue needs to be foregrounded, and the author must give a satisfactory interpretation of the issue. This led to the creation of quite interesting propaganda literature in wartime North Korea: The characters are imbued with heroic but down-to-earth characteristics that portray both the wartime experiences of North Korean soldiers and citizens, but also gives expression to North Korea’s wartime concerns.