, one of the biggest in North Korea, was completed in 1984 in the city of
Hamhŭng. Literature is dominated by political themes. A series of historical novels—
Pulmyouui yoksa (
Immortal History)— depict the heroism and tragedy of the pre-liberation era. The
Korean War is the key theme of
Korea Fights and
The Burning Island. Since the late 1970s, five "great revolutionary plays" have been promoted as models of the party's literature:
The Shrine for a Tutelary Deity; a theatrical rendition of
The Flower Girl;
Three Men, One Party;
A Letter from a Daughter; and
Hyolbun mangukhoe (
Resentment at the World Conference). albeit for a handpicked "invited audience". The concert was broadcast on national television. The
Christian rock band
Casting Crowns played at the annual Spring Friendship Arts Festival in April 2007, held in Pyongyang.
Motion pictures are recognized as "the most powerful medium for educating the masses" and play a central role in social education. According to a North Korean source, "films for children contribute to the formation of the rising generation, with a view to creating a new kind of man, harmoniously evolved and equipped with well-founded knowledge and a sound mind in a sound body." One of the most influential films,
An Jung-geun Shoots Ito Hirobumi, tells of the assassin who killed the Japanese resident-general in Korea in 1909. The protagonist is portrayed as a courageous patriot, but one whose efforts to liberate Korea were frustrated because the masses had not been united under "an outstanding leader
[Kim Il Sung] who enunciates a correct guiding thought and scientific strategy and tactics." Folk tales such as "The Tale of Chun Hyang", about a nobleman who marries a servant girl, and "The Tale of
On Dal" have also been made into films. Australian filmmaker
Anna Broinowski gained access to North Korea's film industry through British filmmaker Nick Bonner, who facilitated meetings between Broinowski and prominent North Korean filmmakers to assist Broinowski with the production of
Aim High in Creation!, a film project based on
Kim Jong Il's manifesto. Broinowski explained in July 2013, prior to the screening of the film at the
Melbourne International Film Festival: A friend gave me Kim Jong Il's manifesto on how to make the 'perfect socialist film', The Cinema and Directing (1987). I was immediately fascinated by his often counter-intuitive (for a Westerner at least) filmmaking rules. And I began to ponder: what would a film by Westerners, strictly adhering to Kim Jong Il's rules, be like? Could it have the same power over western audiences that North Korean films have over Kim Jong Il's 23 million citizens? ... I wanted to humanise the North Koreans in the minds of viewers constantly bombarded by the mainstream Western media's depiction of North Koreans as victimised, brainwashed automatons. A version of Broinowski's work was screened in Pyongyang, but the director believes that the documentary version of the film will not be allowed into the country. A South Korean professor claimed that the spread of cheap, Chinese-made "portable TVs" (
EVD players) in North Korea is making it harder for authorities to crack down on citizens watching South Korean-made videos.
Uriminzokkiri is a Korean news website that frequently posts propaganda including the United States attack video published in 2013. ==Visual arts==