A former resident of Pyongyang, North Korea, is hoping that her sizable Korean poster collection can present a more nuanced picture of art in the reclusive state, according to a CNN report, What North Korea propaganda posters reveal.
Stanford fellow Katharina Zellweger, who lived in Pyongyang for five years while working for a Swiss government agency, collected more than 100 examples from inside the country.
Most of the images are said to promote agriculture and science, ‘offering an alternative to the violent scenes typically associated with North Korean propaganda’.
The posters, which encourage hard work and solidarity, are reinforced with depictions of smiling model citizens and images celebrating national achievements.
North Korea has produced too a number of anti-smoking posters, having joined the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2005.
The WHO is said to have reported that the country ‘keenly celebrates’ World No Tobacco Day every year.
Twenty-five of the posters are on display at the University Museum and Art Gallery in Hong Kong.
Propaganda or advert?
