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The 60th anniversary of its ‘victory’ in the Korean War and Expression in North Korean Literature:an Aspect of War memory on novels in the July 2013 issue of Josun Munhak[조선문학]

  • DONAM OHMUNHAK
  • Abbr : 돈암
  • 2013, 26(), pp.7~35
  • DOI : 10.17056/donam.2013.26..7
  • Publisher : The Donam Language & Literature
  • Research Area : Humanities > Korean Language and Literature > Korean Literature > History of Korean Literature

Yoo, Im-Ha 1

1한국체육대학교

Candidate

ABSTRACT

This paper focused on how the ‘memory of war’ is commemorated in North Korea, which celebrated the 60th anniversary of its ‘victory’ in the Korean War. Based on novels in the July 2013 issue of Josun Munhak[조선문학], the mouthpiece of the Joseon Writers’ Association, the paper examined how the war memory has evolved during the Kim Jeong-eun regime. We were able to confirm that, as had been the case during previous regimes, Kim Jeong-eun had been trying to make the public memory of the war victory permanent and formal, and to use it as a tool to rally its people. The war memory during the Kim Jeong-eun regime has persisted as that of an ‘ongoing war.’ The’ present war,’ directly linked to the stability of the system,views the Korean War as both ‘war as politics’ and ‘politics as war.’ It also appropriates from Kim Il-seong’s dual policy in the 1960s of pursuing both economic and military development. The war memory in the Kim Jeong-eun era is different from that during the earlier regimes in that it is still relatively early in the third-generation hereditary succession. Besides, while relying on the authority that is Kim Il-seong, it also attempts to shift the people’s focus on scientist families. Against this backdrop, In Mother’s Arms is seen as a prime example that regards the war memory as the foundation of the appropriate value and as the source of the patriotism that seeks to promote the stability of the regime while supporting scientists.

Citation status

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