Vortrag von Dr. Charlotte Horlyck,

Lecturer in the History of Korean Art, SOAS University of London

The talk explores the emergence of a uniquely North Korean style of painting during the 1950s and 1960s.

In contrast to their South Korean counterparts, North Korean artists‘ works had to comply with Kim Il-sung’s theories on appropriate subject matters, materials and styles of art. Initially Kim Il-sung was vague on how artists were to achieve this, leading to discussions among artists on how to successfully produce art that supported Kim Il-sung’s political rhetoric. However, by the mid 1960s, Kim Il-sung become more vocal on this point. For example, he argued that traditional Korean art formed the foundation of North Korean art, and he therefore advocated ink painting as a legitimate North Korean art form. Still, despite its Western origins, oil paintings were also deemed acceptable as long as they fitted Kim Il-song’s cultural policies.

In examining how arts and culture developed in the DPRK, references will also be made to Socialist Realist artworks produced outside Korea. Of particular importance is the Soviet Union where Socialist Realism became the official style of art from the mid-1930s until the dissolution of the Soviet Union.