October 04, 2023
Evergreen

Changing narratives of adoption in North Korean mass culture

Following the famine of the 1990s, North Korean films increasingly promoted individuals adopting orphaned children

Among the many novelties that the 1990s brought to North Korean mass culture is the theme of the adoption of orphans who lost their parents during the 'Arduous March,' the famine that devastated the country toward the end of the century.

This trend introduced some interesting additions to the conventional Juche discourse of care for children and orphans.