Private Made Public: Women in Cinema in Post-Famine North Korea

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: This paper examines the evolution of the public and private sphere in North Korea before and after the paradigmatic social change caused by the famine of 1994-1998, also known as the Arduous March. Of particular interest is how depiction of the public and private spheres in state-produced films has adapted to respond to this social shift. Analysis draws upon six post-famine films with female leads: “A Mother’s Happiness” (2003), “A Schoolgirl’s Diary” (2006), “Kites Flying in the Sky” (2008), “A Flower in the Snow” (2011), “Comrade Kim Goes Flying” (2012), and “ The Story of Our Home” (2016). Compared with prior films, depictions of the public and private sphere appear to be intentionally blurred through two common narrative devices: the reframing of private aspirations as public affairs and the portrayal of motherhood and reproductive labor as service to the state. Two of the six films include the famine in their narratives, offering a revisionist interpretation of the famine that implies the markets were not necessary for survival. Taken together, these six films represent a propaganda campaign targeting the agents of the private sphere - North Korea’s housewives - with the end goal of convincing women to forego private market activity and dedicate their labor to serving the needs of the state.

Author	Adams, Rose
Degree granting institution	Stanford University, Stanford Global Studies, Center for East Asian Studies
Thesis advisor	Zur, Dafna

DOI	https://doi.org/10.25740/fb476ps4028
Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/fb476ps4028

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License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC).

Preferred citation: Adams, R. (2021). Private Made Public: Women in Cinema in Post-Famine North Korea . Stanford Digital Repository. Available at https://purl.stanford.edu/fb476ps4028

Stanford Center for East Asian Studies Thesis Collection

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