‘선군 투사’에서 ‘과학기술 룡마 기수’로: 김정은 시대 문학의 대표 전형

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the representative features of the Kim Jong-un era literature within the context of the historical tradition of North Korean ideology-driven literature. It examines the evolution of the embodiments of the era’s spirit and typical characters in poems, novels, and critiques published in literary journals such as “Literary Newspaper,” “Joseon Literature,” and “Youth Literature”(2012-23). In the first phase of the Kim Jong-un era (2012-2015), the representative character in literature was “Military-first Fighter,” the remnants of literature during the Kim Jong-il era. These characters were exemplified by construction worker soldiers, the creators of the “Masikryong speed” who had realized the “parallel development policy of economy and nuclear weapons. In the second phase (2016-19) of the Kim Jong-un era, the literary archetype shifted to the “Science and Technology Master,” key players in the “Mallima speed” movement. These were primarily represented by young scientists and engineers at the forefront of economic growth, shifting the focus from the Military-First Fighter. In the third phase (2020~) of the Kim Jong-un era, the dominant literary archetype became figures like computer engineers who control blast furnaces in steel mills, known as “Science and Technology Ryongma Rider”. Character analysis reveals that unlike the earlier era which emphasized revolution and Military-First Thought, literature of the Kim Jong-un era is characterized by popular ideology and stability of people’s livelihoods, highlighting “improvement of people’s lives.”