North Korea. Insights into a hidden world.

Pak Yong Chol, The Missiles, 1994-2004, North Korea, Sigg Collection, © The artist

There are currently two exhibitions featuring North Korea in Bern. I was intrigued to find out more and to learn about this ‘secret’ country.

We all have preconceptions about North Korea. What comes to mind when you think about it? For me it is a country led by a dictator who imposes strict controls and rules on all aspects of people’s lives. It is a country that is closed off to the rest of the world and somewhere that would be challenging to visit. It is usually in the media due to its nuclear weapons and more recently because of the chronic food shortages that the country is experiencing.

The “Bern” connection

I was surprised to discover that leader, Kim Jong Un, lived and went to school in Bern for 11 years! He was disguised as the child of an embassy worker. Bern is also one of the few places in the world that has a North Korean embassy. He apparently still speaks pretty good Bärndütsch (Bernese German)!

Let’s Talk About Mountains. A Filmic Approach to North Korea at the Swiss Alpine Museum in Bern

Before visiting the museum I wasn’t sure what to expect. Mountains are something that Switzerland has in common with North Korea and, as it turns out, a great way to start talking about and discovering this hermit-like nation.

In 2018/19 a film team from the museum visited North Korea and recorded stories of the people they met there. From artists and schoolchildren to ski instructors and hikers. They managed to capture a window into the world of everyday life in the country.

At the start of the exhibition, you find a row of headphones, these are essential for your visit, as in every section of the exhibition there are screens where you can listen in German, French or English.

Some interviews are pre-arranged (and therefore scripted) others were more spontaneous. It felt like a few of the interviewees were a little concerned by what they were and weren’t allowed to say. I liked hearing the rather serious manager at the ski resort. He was asked what his favourite ski brand was and he really came alive when he started to talk about this. Skiing as a leisure activity is relatively new in North Korea.

They interviewed a group of middle age women in a park in Pyongyang and their enthusiasm for the leader and satisfaction with their lives in North Korea left me feeling slightly uncomfortable. These women seemed to be genuinely speaking from the heart, without pressure. It is hard to get your head around the fact that many of the population there are happy with their lives. Is it because they don’t know any other way of living? That they have been brainwashed from birth or that some people are simply content to live in such a way.

The exhibition left me wondering about those who don’t agree with the regime, those who are not happy with this way of life and want to leave. I’ve since learnt that every year over 1,000 people manage to escape. Thousands more are in prisons and labour camps because they have dared to disagree with the regime.

I spent almost 3 hours in the exhibition, and I intend to go back as by the last rooms I was struggling to take in more information but am still interested to hear more of the stories. In particular, the last section where there are interviews from South Koreans as well.

Let’s Talk About Mountains runs until 3 July 2022 at the Swiss Alpine Museum in Bern.

Border Crossing: North and South Korean Art from the Sigg Collection at Kunstmuseum Bern

This is the first time that art from the two countries has been exhibited together. In North Korea, South Korean art (and all art not produced officially) is banned and showing and acquiring North Korean art in South Korea is restricted. In the exhibition they are often shown side by side as it is themed by topic rather than divided by country.

Who is Uli Sigg? He was the Swiss Ambassador to China and also to North Korea in the 1990s. It was during this time that he managed to buy some works from North Korea. He was the only foreign art collector permitted to purchase works portraying the leaders. He has also been collecting works from South Korea since the 2000s.

The whole approach to art is very different in the two countries. In South Korea there is a vibrant contemporary art scene which is the opposite of North Korea where art exists only as state art and its main purpose is to celebrate and glorify the political system and its leaders. There is no freedom of expression here. Art is used as propaganda.

There are several North Korean landscapes in the exhibition, these are all painted in a realistic style and celebrate the beauty of the landscape which is a source of national pride. The South Korean landscapes, in contrast, often make political or socio-economic statements.

The glorification of the leaders is apparent in several of the paintings shown. The style of these is almost like that of ‘idol’ worship and reminds me of historic paintings where kings, warriors and gods were portrayed in this way. From an early age, North Koreans are taught that their leaders are like all-powerful gods. They are depicted larger than life and looming over their subjects. It is quite shocking to see these images, in particular the way that they are smiling whilst sitting next to their weapons, as can be seen in the image at the top of this post!

Several South Korean artists are trying to start a dialogue between the North and the South. Sun Choi invites people to be part of his paintings. He gets them to exhale coloured ink onto a canvas to form these butterfly shapes. He invited North Korean students to take part but as you can see by the blank half of the canvas this wasn’t possible.

South Korean artist Kyungah Ham creates large scale, embroidered images that depict subjects that are taboo in North Korea, for example her work Chandelier shows extravagance and glitter. Her work is also interesting as she smuggles (though Chinese middle-men) her designs into North Korea so that they can be worked on by North Korean embroiderers.

I loved the collection of North Korean propaganda posters displayed at the end of the exhibition. The originals are hand painted and then used as a template to produce posters, stamps and postcards. They are intended to encourage the population to get involved in activities that support the country’s traditions such as agriculture. They often use friendly women’s faces or show playing, happy children.

Border Crossings runs until 5 September 2021 at Kunstmuseum Bern.

Both of these exhibitions have made me want to learn more about the history and people of Korea. Here are some quick facts:

• Korea has been divided since 1953, following the Korean War. An armistice was signed but the two sides are still officially ‘at war’ as a peace treaty was never signed.
• North Korea has been ruled by three men from the same family since 1948.
• North Korea has a population of 25 million. South Korea has 51 million.
• It is forbidden to call your child after the leader, Kim Jong Un.