Let's Raise Goats!

Something I noticed in my internet search for Korean propaganda pieces, is that Korea is often referred to as “fatherland” (like in Melissa’s poster), while in Soviet propaganda, “motherland” is the appropriate term.  I’m not sure if this due to shoddy translation, or if this really is a distinguishing feature.  If so, this might be an interesting entry into an analysis of the position of women in both of these cultures.  Our reading for this week suggested that North Korea made strides in women’s rights (at least in the beginning), and the same is often said of the USSR.  Well, I’ll leave this for another day.

Here is the poster I wanted to share with you:

Its translation reads:

“Let’s extensively raise goats in all families!”

According to the article I got it from (http://www.businessinsider.com/kim-jong-il-kim-jong-un-north-korea-propoganda-2011-12?op=1), this poster came out in North Korea relatively recently and likely steams from the food shortages that this country has faced since the fall of the USSR.  The smiling face, healthy worker depicted in a bandana and work clothes, pastoral scene w/ city in the background, posing with a commodity (in this case, it’s an adorable goat), are all commonly found in soviet propaganda. However, it caught my eye because the color scheme is entirely void of red.  This is perhaps the key visual aspect that differentiates it from the socialist-realist propaganda posters from the soviet union.  

Could this lack of red be an attempt to draw the focus away from a soviet-influenced past?  This week’s reading talks about the other factors, besides external pressure, that led to the “communist” revolution in North Korea.  Perhaps the more recent propaganda to come out of North Korea is aimed at revisiting the nation’s legacy, rather than emulating the very stark, border-line violent, and Stalin-esque artwork that appears all over the internet when you search for “Korean propaganda.”  I don’t know enough about Confucianism or Korea’s history to actually make this claim, but it could potentially be an interesting point of inquiry when looking at contemporary propaganda. 

I also love the way that the government advertises to the consumers/producers, rather than producers advertising to their consumers, as we usually see in the U.S.  It goes to show just how different our economies are from each other.

--Sarah T.