북한 기록영화의 서사구조에 내재된 이항대립 이데올로기

Abstract

This study identifies the value of the signifiers used in certain contexts within the narrative structure of North Korean documentary films, and examines the ideological meaning behind such choices, comparing the signifiers in the text with those that are absent from the text. The results of the analysis show that the narrative structure of North Korean documentary films carries the binary opposition of “us (good) vs. them (evil).” This type of binary structure attacks the weak link between the opposites, thereby raising the narrator’s own position as well as evoking the sympathy of the audience. The hidden binary opposition thereby emphasizes the complexity and the durability of the Chosun revolution, stressing the destruction of internal enemies. By assigning negative and positive values to each side of the binary opposition, a clear attitude in favor of defeating the U.S. is disseminated. Early in the regime, North Korea expressed the young country’s vision, setting up the U.S. as a new opponent to topple, and interpellates its people on the subject of the new fatherland’s construction. After the purge of the Gapsan faction, the creation of the great leader was stressed, and emphasis was put on building a defensive position for the public in order to establish a one-party state. As the country experienced the Arduous March, the U.S. was reemphasized as the root of evil, and the people were interpellated as the guardians of the socialist regime. As such, North Korea is using documentary films to reproduce hegemony, and has established these films as one of the main positions necessary for maintaining the regime. In other words, during the early days of the regime, North Korea took efforts to establish a new position—i.e., documentary films. The country later attempted to change this to a position for internal solidarity; as it entered the “military-first” era, the country took a new position that vowed to protect the communist regime until the end.