‘선군(先軍)’과 ‘민생’ 사이 김정은 시대 초(2012～2013) 북한의 ‘사회주의 현실’ 문학 비판

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the literature themed around the reality of socialismwhich would provide a window into the real lives of the North Koreans at the earlyphase of Kim Jeong-eun era (from December 2011 to October 2013). For that, the literaturetrends and internal aspects of the North Korean society were examined through theliterature study of Joseon Literature, Literature Newspaper, and Rodong Newspaper, alongwith the analysis of discourse. Kim Jeong-eun, the new North Korean leader, imitated andinherited the images of his grandfather Kim Il-seong and his father Kim Jeong-il, and successfullybuilt the differentiated image of a leader who is young, friendly and pursues thefuture. The North Korean literature discourse in the early phase of Kim Jeong-eun era is characterizedby the recollection of the era of Kim Il-seung and Kim Jeong-il and the highlighteddiscourse on the future for the new generations of children, adolescents, etc. Itseems that the military-first principle and people´s livelihood are pursed simultaneouslyafter showing the countervailing relationship between the military-first principle and people´s livelihood. A new process has set in which focuses on the simultaneous pursuit ofmilitary-first principle and people´s livelihood, going beyond the adherence to the discourseof military-first principle. After all, the stability of Kim Jeong-eun system, which isreflected in the literature works of this era, will be determined by the success or failure ofthe simultaneous pursuit of economy and nuclear arsenal. However, the pursuit of military-first principle and people´s livelihood is predicted tohave slight chance of success from the perspective of the scholars of the South Korea. Such prediction is based on the limitation of the non-spontaneous mobilization of thepublic and the anti-ecological developmentalism. The North Korean literature at the earlyphase of Kim Jeong-eun era, particularly, the literature works revolving around thetheme, “socialist reality”, mirrors the simultaneous pursuit of economy and nuclearpower. However, it is skeptical whether it will practically contribute to improving thelives of the public