The only divided country
1.History of Korea
Before the division
Korean history begins with the founding of Go Jo-seon in 2333 BC by Dangun. In 18th Century Korea was occupied by Japan during 35years.(1910–1945). At the end of World War II, the Japanese surrendered to Soviet and U.S. forces who occupied the northern and southern halves of Korea, respectively.
After the division
Espite the initial plan of a unified Korea in the 1943 Cairo Declaration, escalating Cold War antagonism between the Soviet Union and the United States eventually led to the establishment of separate governments, each with its own ideology, leading to Korea's division into two political entities in 1948: North Korea and South Korea. In the North, a former anti-Japanese guerrilla and communist activist, Kim Il-sung gained power through Soviet support, and in the South, an exiled and right-wing Korean political leader, Syngman Rhee, was installed as president.
On 25 June 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, sparking the Korean War, the Cold War's first major conflict.
On 25 June 1950, North Korea invaded the South, using Soviet tanks and weaponry. During the Korean War (1950–1953) millions of civilians died and the three years of fighting throughout the nation effectively destroyed most cities.
| South Korea Democratic state | North Korea |
| Socialist state Collectivism Juche Idea (made by Kim il-sung) Dictator ship |
2.The reality of division
38th Parallel
The 38th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 38 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. After the Armistice ended the Korean War in 1953, a demarcation line was established through the middle of the Demilitarized Zone. This line crosses the 38th parallel at an acute angle, from southwest to northeast, now serves as the Military Demarcation Line between the two Koreas.
Poverty of North Korea
Now, South Korea and North Korea are in a totally different situation. North Korea has so many problems. North Korea is in necessity. Today, North Korea is beset by widespread poverty and famines. Millions of people died and a lot of people are dying of hunger in North Korea. But Kim Jung-il who is dictator of North Korea and his family live in luxury.
Humanitarian conditions in North Korea
North Korea has most infamous labor camps. The North Korean Political Prison Camp is huge place of exile where the political prisoners considered as threat to its regime are isolated from society. The North Korean regime established 10 camps, holding approximately 150,000 prisoners as of today. Most do not survive and return from their time, and prisoners are daily subjected to 12 hours of forced labour and various forms of violence and torture to death.
3.Research of art works about North Korea
Several artists are telling about North Korean’s situation in all over the globe. Some of art works deal with North Korean’s terrible situation. It shows famine and poverty. Some artists made a documentary about the North Korean’s prison camps and people who was in that prison camp. As well as, A North Korean defector made a musical in South Korea, depicting what he says is a realistic display of the cruelty found in a Northern prison camp.
Kimjongilia (2009) 75min Documentary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTragUC8AnY
North Korean defectors tell their stories of repression, escape and hope.Director: N.C. Heikin
Writer: N.C. Heikin
Stars: Kang Chol Hwan, Lee Shin and Choi Young Hun
Musical ‘Story of Yoduck’ (2007)
Director: Jung san, Jung
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxSTNECCVr8&feature=related
A North Korean defector made a musical in South Korea, depicting what he says is a realistic display of the cruelty found in a Northern prison camp. The several dozen performers created the musical entitled “Yoduk Story” - named after the prisoncamp where human rights organizations say entire North Korean families are sent for even minor political crimes. This musical performed in South Korea, New York and Washington D.C. It was successful also total amount of profits donated for North Koran defectors.
Documentary ‘Pizza for the people’
Director: Kim Whang
Overview
In the course of a long running ideological conflict North Korea is one of the most culturally isolated countries in the world, which reject any foreign influences through a tight control of media and communication equipment. To protect the NK identity from potential damaging western influences, short wave radios for example are banned while TV receiver are locked to tune only to the 3 official channels.
Paradoxically, with the support of pizza loving leader Kim Jong-il the first-ever Pizzeria was recently opened to provide an authentic Italian experience for a minority of wealthy political elite.
With the aim off challenging current cultural obstacles in North Korea, I have contacted a number of Chinese smugglers in China to distribute illegal propaganda over the border to North Korea, through the popular DVD format, which players are widely found in NK homes.
The Pizza to NK is the first in a series of designed insertions that explores how design can playfully contribute and impact on a social and cultural level, subtly challenging an ideological status quo.
http://www.hwangkim.com/pizza.html
BBC News : The first-ever pizzaria opens in North Korea
He made a film and it introduce how to make a pizza for North Korean. Because Pizza is grand public food but North Korean cannot have a pizza. Also, this film contains some of different stories such as ‘How to packing for travel’, ‘How to enjoy Christmas’ and ‘How to enjoy South Korean style dancing’. In North Korea, normal people cannot travel to abroad so they never have been tried to packing for take flight. So they didn’t know that it has some rule like no knife, no fire something like this. And in North Korea, people cannot enjoy jazz music, dace music even classical music which composed by people who lived in capitalist country. North Korean could dance with only their music which has purpose for praising Kim jong il. As well as, this film introduces how to enjoy Christmas and Santa Claus. So this film introduces different culture what we have to North Korean.
After, he sent this DVD to North Korea through different way because in North Korea, watching South Korean TV or Drama is really dangerous. When North Korean watch South Korean’s DVD, if they get caught they should go to the prison camp.
Finally, he could get some feed back from North Korean. They sent a letter to him and they said they tried to make a pizza and it was really delicious.
He film it whole process and it is the documentary titled ‘ Pizza for the people’.
In my opinion, he didn’t say any negative words but he contained everything in his project. It has strong power and I could feel that.
Graphic Design
Title: typographic viruses
Designer: Jonathan Barnbrook
Documentary: Pyongyang Style
Director: Steve Gong
Steve Gong is a multimedia journalist and portrait photographer based in New York, London, and Beijing.
http://www.stevegongphoto.com/
Born. China Raised. Italy
University of Virginia. B.A. Biology, B.A. Psychology
University of the Arts London. M.A. Photojournalis
Steve Gong traveled North Korea. Actually almost foreign people can travel to North Korea. But every time North Korean guide will be with people and watch what people do. Also, In North Korea tourist cannot have their mobile, lab top, every kind of electronic stuffs even foreigner. But Steve Gong success to record in North Korea and he made a documentary. This video shows North Korean’s real life in Pyongyang. Pyongyang is a capital city of North Korea.
Book
The last Paradise: North Korea
Photographs and text by Nicolas Righetti. Introduction by Orville Schell. Umbrage Editions, New York, 2003. 128 pp., numerous color illustrations, 9¼x7¼".
Publisher's Description
"The Last Paradise offers a rare and tantalizing glimpse into the surreal landscape and psyche of the world's only communist dynasty, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Secretive, paranoid, and unrepentantly militant, North Korea has incubated its own peculiar mix of communist utopianism and personality cult. Nicolas Righetti is one of the few Western artists invited to photograph North Korean society. Righetti's images feature a bright urban landscape dotted with paper flower, curvaceous neo-constructivist architecture, and synchronized folk dancing. The telltale signs of the poverty and repression of the North Korean regime remain embedded in the absurd juxtaposition of details: huge guns hidden in the traditional landscape wall paintings; looming, inescapable portraits of the late Great Leader and his son; empty shelves at the Paradise Food Shop; Big Brother exhortations proclaiming nirvana achievable through 'iron discipline.'"
POSTED BY RARE AUTUMN AT 13:27
Art under control in North Korea
Jane Portal, British Museu
This timely volume places North Korean art in its historical, political, and social contexts, with a discussion on the state system of cultivating and promoting artists and an examination of the range of art produced, from paintings.
No comments:
Post a Comment