Alice Wielinga: ‘A Life Between Propaganda and Reality. In her North Korea – A Life between Propaganda and Reality series, Alice Wielinga links the documentary photographs she took in North Korea to the propaganda images produced by the government. Her pictures are part of the North Korean Perspectives exhibition, on display at the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, up until October 4, 2015.’

‘North Korean: A Life Between Propaganda and Reality’ is an ongoing project by Photographer Alice Wielinga. This project began in 2013, when at the time western media was following the steps of Kim Jong-Un closely during his missile test launches, Wielinga traveled 2500 kilometers through the inlands of North Korea.
“I decided to find out what was happening inside North Korea, behind its propaganda that masked such unfathomable despair and poverty. During my trip I collected propaganda material and took documentary photographs of the reality I encountered. In the final works, a dialogue between propaganda and reality has emerged, trying to reconcile the present and the future of the country nobody really seems to know.”

Wielinga’s main aim of her trip was show what the realities of North Korea were, compared to the idealistic version of the country: which is presented through propaganda throughout North Korea itself and other countries.

Analysis

The photo above is one of my favourites from this project, as I think it outlines her intentions the best and shows the greatest comparison between the two worlds. Beginning with the setting of the picture, on the real life version, it is gloomy, there is a lot of fog and mist. The trees are barren and there is no greenery in sight. In the pond, the difference between the two is very clear, the pond in reality is drying out and is surrounded by old debris from the area around it, there are broken boxes strewn everywhere and the buildings in the background are grey and seem to be decrepit, almost falling apart. The reality side overall looks like a wasteland. This juxtaposes the painting version of the scene. This was taken from an archive of government paintings of North Korea. The colours are vivid, the sun is shining and everything seems to be picturesque. There is no lack of greenery, the trees are full of leaves and there are flowers everywhere, this painting overall presents an idealistic view of the country, how it wants to be regarded by the rest of the world, who are forbidden entry. Lastly, the people in the image: in the realistic version their clothes are dark and look like government-issue workwear. In the painting they are wearing brightly coloured free flowing clothes, the women are wearing dresses and they all seem to have freedom. Which the outside world is aware that they definitely don’t have, everything in North Korea is controlled, even hairstyles. The facial expressions on each are also wildly different, in the painting they are smiling and laughing, happily getting on with their days work. In reality, the workers are forced, their faces are staring unknowingly at the camera and they look tired and worn out from the regime.

Brief History of Propaganda in North Korea:
Propaganda has been used throughout history to influence and sway public opinion, particularly in totalitarian states. Being subject to endless propaganda is common for North Koreans, especially anti-American propaganda. Throughout history it has become common knowledge that the North Korean State hates Americans, this is because in the Korean War, American planes dropped approximately 635,000 tons of explosives on North Korea (that’s more in three years than during the entire Pacific theater of World War II), including 32,000 tons of napalm.
That continued fear of deadly US military airstrikes helps the North Korean government to portray Americans as a far-away caricature, a faceless enemy that leveled their country and could do so again.

Above is a North Korean propaganda poster displayed at a kindergarten in 2012 in Pyongyang, North Korea. The Korean characters say “we love playing military games knocking down the American bastards.”
The North Korean state attempts to create a deep hatred for the United States. Kindergartners draw anti-American martial images. The Korean news media releases videos of the US military in flames. The June 25 anniversary of the start of the Korean War is “the day of struggle against US imperialism.”

Wielinga has also done a Ted-Talk since returning from the trip, where she explains what she learnt from working with North Korean Artists. I have linked this below. For my own work, I want to explore the technique in which Wielinga uses to bring the two realities together and bring a bit of awareness to certain topics, however on a smaller and less serious scale than North Korea.

Sources

https://edition.cnn.com/2017/07/26/asia/north-korea-united-states-relationship/index.htmlhttp://www.alicewielinga.nl/