August 2022
Original North Korean Linocut
Going to a Congratulatory Performance
An original North Korean linocut from Koryo Studio’s collection.
This linocut print was made in 1981, a year before the completion of ‘The Tower of the Juche Idea’ (commonly known as the Juche Tower). Its opening was timed to coincide with the seventieth birthday of President Kim Il Sung on 15th April 1982.
Going to a Congratulatory Performance
Ideological Messages
Much of North Korean socialist realism is allegorical. It is made to deliver a political or social message and there is almost no ‘art for art’s sake’. In this instance, the story is of a group of students with their teacher heading off for a congratulatory performance to inspire the workers. The message enforces the pride one should be feeling while engaged in the construction of the Juche Tower.
Indeed, this beacon of political thought and physical manifestation of the guiding ideology of the entire nation. This is a concept in concrete unlike any existing elsewhere.
Construction & the Juche Flame
Like most construction projects in North Korea, the crane is topped with a large socialist red flag, denoting the presence of ongoing labour by a work team.
But also, perhaps in this case, alluding to the Juche Flame that will eventually top of the stone tower when it reaches its full height of 150 metres…
The photograph to the right displays the Juche Tower from a similar angle. This is from where the artist Kim Un Hui would have drawn his initial sketch.
In the linocut, the roofline of the Grand People’s Study House on Kim Il Sung Square is shown. However, in the photograph, it is hidden from view because of the stepped plinth.
Going to a Congratulatory Performance
Detailing
Detail of the notice board congratulating one of the builders.
The text in Korean reads “Congratulations”.
The flame of the Juche Tower.
The Juche Tower
Pyongyang’s Tower of the Juche Idea is one of the most iconic monuments in the DPRK.
At 170 metres high (150m for the tower, and 20m for the iconic flame), this symbol of the guiding ideology of the nation can be seen throughout the city.
Juche literally means ‘the master of one’s destiny’.
It is illuminated by a torch. The Juche Flame glows during the night. The height of the tower includes the big stepped base as the elevator to the top also starts from a basement level underneath the main tower.
