North Korean Economy Watch

According to the Joong Ang Daily:

[Radio Free Asia] reported on its Korean Web site that the poster shows a fully armed soldier cutting a corvette similar to the Cheonan in half with his bare fist. Below the image is the phrase “Deom-byeo-deul-myeon Dan-mae-e!” (“Ready to crush any attack with a single blow!”).

…

Radio Free Asia based its report on an interview with the businessman, who took the photo of the poster on a recent trip to North Korea. The poster is shown on the RFA Korean Web site. The RFA did not specify the date the photo was taken but, citing unnamed sources, said it was likely the poster was made after the Cheonan sinking to encourage military heroism among North Korean soldiers.

The RFA quoted the Chinese businessman as saying, “Officials in North Korea have claimed that the South Korean government’s accusation of North Korea as the culprit in the Cheonan incident is a false charge, but the propaganda poster showing the breaking of a ship in two pieces seems to conflict with their claim.”

The full Joong Ang Daily article can be seen here.

Here is a picture of the Cheonan:

At first glance the painting seems like it could be the Cheonan or some kind of corvette vessel.  I looked through my books on North Korean propaganda and found several images of soldiers smashing things with their fists (western books and videos, the US capital, imperialist soldiers, etc—but no naval vessels). I also found several posters with naval ships…but they were all of the USS Pueblo.  This is the first North Korean poster I have seen that features a naval vessel that is not the Pueblo.  However, I am more inclined to think it is a generic ship “form” meant to convey a broad idea rather than a specific act.  This is because the painted ship, in addition to bearing some slight differences with the actual Cheonan,  is “stylized”–it lacks a propeller and a flag of origin. A great new addition to the North Korean propaganda collection nonetheless.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 14th, 2010 at 10:58 pm and is filed under Animation, Art. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.