The Cultural Cold War in Korea, 1945–1950

Armstrong, Charles K.

doi:10.2307/3096136

Cited by 80 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…2. For similar dynamics in Korea, see Armstrong 2003. 3. On Mao Zedong's distrust of Stalin, see Goncharov, Lewis, and Xue 1993.…”

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 90%

Internationalism and Cultural Experience: Soviet Films and Popular Chinese Understandings of the Future in the 1950s

Chen¹

2004

Cultural Critique

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In 1950 a Wfteen-year-old female middle school student, Jin Miaozhen, wrote to the editor of the Chinese Wlm journal Dazhong Dianying (Popular Cinema) to ask why the cover photographs of the previous three issues featured Soviet Wlms (Jin 1950, 28). The editor replied with an explanation of the guidelines: First, cover photographs represented the feature stories of each issue. In the weeks in question, the popular magazine introduced to Chinese readers the Soviet Wlms Nongjia le (Happiness of the Peasant Household) and Gongke Bailin (The Fall of Berlin). 1 Second, very few Chinese Wlms were being produced at this time. In one of the issues, he explained, the editors had intended to feature the Chinese Wlm Zhao Yiman, but the Wlm had not reached Shanghai in time and therefore could not be introduced as planned. Finally, the editor reminded the young student, all should study Soviet Wlm not only for its ideological and artistic merits, but because the Soviet Union was China's big brother. The issue, the editor insisted, was not whether Soviet or Chinese Wlm stars graced the covers of Dazhong Dianying, but whether or not the Wlms contained progressive messages. In this brief exchange, the editor of Dazhong Dianying summarized the role of Soviet Wlm in Chinese culture. Soviet Wlm provided socialist heroes and heroines through whom the Chinese could envision their future. The editor dismissed national borders as legitimate criteria for selection of feature articles and photographs. He privileged international socialism over nationalism to justify the strong presence of non-Chinese Wlms in the magazine. He argued that the Soviet Union, as an established socialist nation, provided China with

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“…2. For similar dynamics in Korea, see Armstrong 2003. 3. On Mao Zedong's distrust of Stalin, see Goncharov, Lewis, and Xue 1993.…”

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 90%

Internationalism and Cultural Experience: Soviet Films and Popular Chinese Understandings of the Future in the 1950s

Chen¹

2004

Cultural Critique

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“…Charles Armstrong estimates their number as "perhaps hundreds"; no exact figures exist. 16 As the director of the North Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute from 1965 onwards he was influential also in the first phases of the development of the North Korean nuclear programme. During 1962-1990 he was a member of the Supreme People's Assembly.…”

Section: Illuminative Biographiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Rise and Fall of the Ŭnhasu Orchestra

Korhonen

Koidl

2018

EJKS

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The Ŭnhasu Orchestra was a major North Korean ensemble in 2009–2013. It was established by Kim Jong Il (Kim Chŏng’il, 김정일) and was composed of young musicians and singers of both genders, several of them having studied in foreign higher educational institutions in countries like Austria, Italy, Russia and China. Its members represented the core class of the North Korean society. It was ostensibly meant to display the high quality of North Korean art and engage at this level also in international cultural diplomacy, both in terms of physical visits, and in terms of DVD and internet publishing. In addition to domestic concerts, the Ŭnhasu Orchestra performed with visiting Russian artists, and gave a concert in Paris in 2012. The Ŭnhasu Orchestra exemplifies also the problems with regime transition in North Korea. It was so closely tied with the Kim Jong Il regime that the change at the end of 2011 to the Kim Jong Un (Kim Chŏng’un, 김정은) regime did not proceed altogether smoothly. In August 2013 it was disbanded rather abruptly, causing an international uproar, and signalling the beginning of a wave of other purges leading up to the highest leadership levels. The article attempts to shed light on the nature of the Orchestra as a North Korean cultural phenomenon and the reasons for its sudden ending, trying to dispel some of the disinformation surrounding the event.

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“…4 Due to strong Soviet support and an ambivalent American occupation government to the south, Pyongyang was able to lure artists and other "leftist" intellectuals and artists residing in the south across the 38th parallel and into the Soviet-occupied zone. Following the signing of an agreement on cultural exchange in 1949, USSR-DPRK cultural interaction increased significantly.…”

Section: North Korean Cultural Diplomacy: a Historical Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

North Korea's Cultural Diplomacy in the Early Kim Jong-un Era

Cathcart¹,

Denney²

2013

North Korean Review

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Article type: research paper Purpose-This article describes and analyzes the DPRK's cultural diplomacy during the early months of Kim Jong-un's reign.Methodology-We analyze the recent practice of North Korea's cultural diplomacy, using two case studies: the KCNA-Associated Press photo exhibition in New York, and the tour of the Unhasu Orchestra to Paris.Findings-Both initiatives coincided with the first months of Kim Jong-un's reign, and can provide an alternate perspective on both North Korean foreign policy and the wider debate about how to best engage the DPRK.Originality/value-The article thus adds to the literature on North Korean foreign relations as well as cultural diplomacy more generally.

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The Cultural Cold War in Korea, 1945–1950

Cited by 80 publications

References 7 publications

Internationalism and Cultural Experience: Soviet Films and Popular Chinese Understandings of the Future in the 1950s

Internationalism and Cultural Experience: Soviet Films and Popular Chinese Understandings of the Future in the 1950s

The Rise and Fall of the Ŭnhasu Orchestra

North Korea's Cultural Diplomacy in the Early Kim Jong-un Era

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