Graphic novels (kurimchaek) are a major art form in North Korea, produced by agents of the regime to set out its vision in a range of important areas. This book provides an analysis of North Korean graphic novels, discussing the ideals they promote and the tensions within those ideals, and examining the reception of graphic novels in North Korea and by North Korean refugees in South Korea. Particular themes considered include the ideal family and how the regime promotes this; patriotism, and its conflict with class identities; and the portrayal of the Korean War – "The Fatherland Liberation War", as it is known in North Korea – and the subsequent, continuing stand-off. Overall, the book demonstrates the importance of graphic novels in North Korea as a tool for bringing up children and for promoting North Korean ideals. In addition, however, the book also shows that although the regime sees the imaginative power of graphic novels as a necessity for effective communication, graphic novels are also viewed with caution in that they exist in everyday social life in ways that the regime may be aware of, and seeks to control, but cannot dominate completely.
Martin Petersen is a Senior Researcher at the National Museum of Denmark
List of figuresList of tablesAcknowledgements Introduction: Seduction of the innocent? Kurimchaek as entertainment, education, harmful media, political propaganda and beyond Part One: History, media and regimeChapter One: A short history of North Korea and kurimchaekChapter Two: Post-1998 North Korean graphic novelsChapter Three: Father, Mother and Son: One family, one nation, one mediumPart Two: Seduction of the readerChapter Four: A society in crisis? From The Arduous March to a New DealChapter Five: The downfall of a model citizen? Family background as plot tension and policy discordChapter Six: Sleepless in the DPRK: Graphic negotiations of ‘family’ in The True Identity of ‘Pear Blossom’Chapter Seven: Patriots behind enemy lines: Hyperreality and excess in graphic novels about warPart Three: Reading for the readerChapter Eight: Reading for the North Korean reader I: Media framing of comics consumption in contemporary DPRKChapter Nine: Reading for the North Korean reader II: Comics in children’s literature and refugee reminiscencesFinal panel: Seduction of the innocent? BibliographyIndex
