Korean posters in London

DPRK ambassador at the exhibition

By New Worker correspondent

Korean modern poster art returned to a gallery in London’s now fashionable East End last weekend, with a display of 20 original hand-painted posters from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). At the opening ceremony Democratic Korean ambassador Choe Il said the posters reflected the reality of Juche Korea, which is defying the imperialist sanctions to advance under the banner of self-reliance.

All the posters were up for sale and visitors could also buy souvenirs, badges, and DPRK books and pamphlets at the literature table in the hall. The posters, covering a number of themes ranging from economic construction to sports, were part of an exhibition organised by the Korean Friendship Association (KFA), which regularly holds meetings and cultural events in the capital throughout the year.

Korea in Posters!

by New Worker correspondent

Korean solidarity activists were given the rare opportunity to see quality Democratic Korean (DPRK) political posters at an exhibition that ran for over two weekends in Croydon. The Korean Friendship Association (KFA) exhibition entitled Reality of Juche Korea Seen Through Posters was held on 30^th June and 7^th July at the Matthews Yard cultural hub in Croydon, Surrey. The event, a first for the KFA, brought in many visitors and a number of the hand-painted posters were sold to the public.

Made in North Korea

By Dermot Hudson

The gentrified area just north of Kings Cross, with its trendy shops and coffee bars, is not the sort of place where you would expect to find an exhibition of socialist realist art from a revolutionary anti-imperialist country. Yet the House of Illustration in London’s Granary Square (an area redeveloped from old railway land) is hosting an exhibition of graphic art from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) that ranges from posters to canned food labels.

      The exhibition was arranged by tour operator and film maker Nick Bonner as part of an effort to promote his book Made in North Korea. Needless to say, commercial and business considerations were reflected in the fact that an admission fee of a minimum of £7.50 was charged and there was merchandise such as the book itself,  priced at £24 (well out of reach of many low-income supporters of People’s Korea), along with the Comrade Kim Goes Flying DVD. This is the only joint British–DPRK film ever made and is about a girl miner who aspires to be trapeze artist, and was priced at £15.

There are those who question the motives of people such as Bonner. Some believe that they have a ‘reform’ and ‘opening up’ agenda for the DPRK – basically trying to undermine its socialist system by subtle means, acting as a form of ‘soft power‘ for imperialism.

The exhibition had a range of art and products from the DPRK. Many of them were quite familiar to people such as myself, who has visited the country 14 times. They include posters and things such as notebooks, badges, pens and other souvenir items you very easily find in gift shops when you visit the DPRK. Bizarrely, even Air Koryo sick bags had been included!

The DPRK is very famous for its poster art, and pride of place was given in the exhibition to posters encouraging workers and farmers to increase production, for improvements in health care and many other things. The militant anti-US posters were not to be seen in the exhibition however, probably a deliberate omission. Moreover, the explanatory notices for the exhibition omit any mention of the Juche Idea, the DPRK’s guiding ideology, and the Songun (Army first) idea. Also, clichés such as “state run” had seeped into the explanations, plus one or two questionable assertions about the DPRK that probably reflect wishful thinking on the part of the organisers.

Despite his long involvement with the DPRK, Bonner does not appear to have any understanding of Juche and the Juche-based socialism of Korean style, so makes reference to the DPRK “copying” Soviet and Chinese art. In fact President Kim Il Sung argued strongly for Juche in art as well as all other fields of society. Copying Soviet and Chinese styles were regarded negatively as flunkeyism towards big powers.

I would suggest that those who want to learn more about People’s Korea start off by joining the Korean Friendship Association (KFA); basic membership is free of charge

A smash hit in London!

By New Worker correspondent

COMRADES and friends of Korea joined music lovers to see the Democratic Korean Youth Para Ensemble’s final performance of their tour of England with the support of the Korean Federation for the Protection of the Disabled. Their first tour wowed Londoners in 2015. They did the same last week.

The young disabled artistes of north Korea put on a splendid performance at St John’s concert hall in London’s West End last week. Much of the music was Korean folk music played on traditional Korean instruments such as the Kayagum in addition to a grand piano.

It was an incredible evening. One of the performers, a wonderful soprano, was only 14 years old; her singing was equal to that of a very experienced professional singer.

The artistic level was at such a high level. Indeed, in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) every child is taught to play at least one musical instrument.

Equally impressive was the performance of Onegha, a traditional Korean song and dance. The dancers, in colourful traditional Korean garb, were just amazing.

We were treated to a beautiful rendition of the northern Irish folk song Danny Boy as well as the classic Irish-Norwegian ballad You Raised Me Up, and the dancers performed part of the story of Beauty and the Beast.

No doors are closed to disabled people in the DPRK, unlike Britain where the disabled face discrimination and ill-treatment, or south Korea where they are regarded as pitiful and weak and some are sent to work as slaves on remote islands.

The concert concluded with a moving rendition of the time-honoured and renowned Korean folk song Arirang.

Afterwards the chair of the Korean Federation for the Protection of the Disabled, who were the co-hosts of the concert, made a short speech saying how the performance can break down barriers of politics and communication.

Snow White Korean-style!

Dermot Hudson of the KFA with some of the cast

 By New Worker correspondent

COMRADES and friends of Korea joined music lovers to see the Democratic Korean Youth Para Ensemble that is touring England for the first time with the support of the Korean Federation for the Protection of the Disabled.

. Twelve disabled children and young adults along with five other helpers demonstrated their immense artistic skills at Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre and the Royal College of Music in London this week.

The DPR Korea performers were assisted by London-based Korean resident Prof Kim So Ock of the Royal Academy of Music and the 90-minute performance included not only traditional Korean music but also some popular western pieces such as the Phantom of the Opera.

Particularly impressive was the performance by Kim Myong Suk, who is blind, on the kayagum, a traditional Korean instrument. It was also delightful to watch a group of deaf children perform Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with songs from the Disney classic including Heigh Ho! in Korean and Snow White dressed as a Korean fairy!

There was also a lovely rendition, in Korean and English of You Raise Me Up by Jang Mi Yon and the performance concluded with a spirited Kayagum version of the famous Korean song Arirang.

The performances showed that disabled people are treated well in the DPRK and are provided with all rights. The disabled in the DPRK live independent and creative lives with full living conditions provided by the socialist system.

One could see not only skill and creativity but dignity shining through. All in all a great night out and if you did not make the Oxford and London concerts plus try to make it to Cambridge for their last performance on 2^nd March.

Korean artists come to London

David Heather speaking with the DPRK ambassador 

 by New Worker correspondent

FOUR top DPRK painters have spent the past two weeks touring London, capturing glimpses of the spirit of the people in their art which was displayed for the first time at an exhibition at the DPRK embassy this week.

The Korean people’s artists painted their way round the capital, visiting the South Bank, the National Gallery, Covent Garden and the Tower and their impressions, along with many other examples of their skills have been delighting art-lovers and friends of the DPRK all week.

            The artists work at the Mansudae Art Studio in Pyongyang. The studio, which was founded in 1959, is the national fine arts centre of the DPR Korea with specialised units covering sculpture, ceramics, murals, paintings, embroidery and social and political posters. The studio employs nearly 5,000 workers including 700 artists whose works have been displayed throughout Democratic Korea and across the world.

Happy Day

 The vast majority of the major art works of the DPRK have been produced by Mansudae Art Studio artists. Their ages go from mid-20s to mid-60s and almost all are graduates of the very demanding Pyongyang University. Over half the Merit Artists and the People’s Artists, the two highest awards an artist can receive in DPRK, are or have been associated with the Mansudae Art Studio.

Traditionally Koreans painted in ink and it remains the most popular genre in the DPRK. Oil painting was introduced to Korea in the 19^th century and for a long time it was seen as a foreign technique. But in the 1960s it was taken up by the Studio with the specific approval of great leader Kim Il Sung. It is now used mainly for landscapes, wild-life studies and portraits.

            At the launch on Monday the DPRK ambassador, Hyong Hak Bong, paid tribute to all those who made the exhibition possible including the Foreign Office, the British Council and the organiser, David Heather, a Surrey art dealer who has written a number of books on the posters of the German Democratic Republic, Vietnam and the DPRK.

The Ambassador said he hoped the exhibition would contribute greatly to cultural exchange between Britain and the DPRK.

            Communists and friends of Korea rubbed shoulders with art-dealers, art critics, diplomats and journalists at the reception for the exhibition in the main hall of the embassy in west London. Guests included New Communist Party leader Andy Brooks, Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) general secretary Michael Chant, Dermot Hudson from the Korean Friendship Association and American Hip Hop artist and campaigner Marcel Cartier, who recently visited the DPRK.

                        The Mansudae artists had never been to London before and we saw London through the freshness of their eyes as they caught the autumn crowds in oil. These included a painting of a snapshot one of them took of two smiling teenage girls on the South Bank and the ceramic poppy installation at the Tower of London. It was also a first for many of the guests looking at examples of contemporary and traditional Korean painting, wood-cuts and sketches.

            Widely reported in the bourgeois press the exhibition was also covered by the BBC, ITN, Channel Four and Central China TV (CCTV).    Over 100 guests attended the launch and opening ceremony. Thousands are expected to come to the public exhibition which closes at the end of the week.