Leiden University Student Repository

Dam, Isa van (2023)

Art, Thought, and Politics: A Visual Discourse Analysis of the Depiction of Agriculture in North Korean Propaganda Posters between 1995 and 2010

Bachelor thesis | Koreastudies (BA)

This thesis examines the construction of agriculture in 15 North Korean propaganda posters issued between 1995 and 2010 provided by the Willem van der Bijl collection. The analysis adheres to an altered version of the Four Sites theory by Gillian Rose to connect the results to the relevant socio-political context to uncover change, continuity, and trends in the visual construction of agriculture. The analysis discovers three main results: a strong presence of patriarchal values, the reuse of old revolutionary symbols related to Kim Il Sung, and various specific agricultural campaigns that offer a window into the economic turmoil that is the 1990s and 2000s. It concludes that the construction of agriculture portrays a successful socialist agricultural system. But the posters also reveal the government’s attempt to cope with economic distress and prevent collapse by seeking to motivate North Korea’s adult population through posters.

propaganda poster

North Korea

visual discourse analysis

visual agriculture

arduous march

socialist propaganda

Author

Dam, Isa van

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Supervisors

Green, C.K.

ECTS Credits

10

Language

en