Most reporting and research on North Korea paints a bleak picture of the country, focusing on its oppressive politics, routine violations of human rights and the dire humanitarian circumstances of its people.

Yet for all the difficulties of life in the DPRK, the country’s arts and literature have always emphasized the importance of social optimism and belief in the project of establishing a “paradise on Earth,” and an unusual novel by a renowned North Korean screenwriter provides a revealing look at how this philosophy manifests itself in the arts.