[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Dong-pyo] North Korea has attracted attention by reporting that the film Parasite won four awards at the 92nd Academy Awards this year. This is the first time North Korea has reported news about the film Parasite.
The Choson Sinbo, the official newspaper of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, mentioned Parasite and 5.18 Hintzpeter Story in the gossip column "Echo" on the 21st, stating that "they share the commonality of revealing the reality of South Korea in a candid manner." Choson Sinbo is a media outlet representing North Korea's stance.
The newspaper described Parasite as "sweeping four categories including the most prestigious Best Picture award at the Academy Awards, as well as Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film," and evaluated it as "a tragicomedy unfolding between two symbolic families representing the lowest and wealthiest classes in South Korea, a work characteristic of director Bong Joon-ho."
It added, "It is noteworthy that this masterpiece, which artistically and sharply dissects the reality where a handful of wealthy elites dominate the overwhelming majority of the people and the ruling class regards the masses as dogs or pigs, was selected as the overall number one at the American and white-centered film industry, the most prestigious Academy Awards in the world, and that it exposes the wealth gap and class contradictions humanity faces," emphasizing the film's social and class context.
The newspaper also reported that director Bong was placed on the cultural blacklist during the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations.
The 5.18 Hintzpeter Story mentioned alongside is a documentary based on previously unreleased footage of the May 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement, filmed by German journalist J?rgen Hintzpeter, who appeared in the film Taxi Driver.
The newspaper stated, "It is highly valuable as it was edited based on interviews with this journalist (Hintzpeter) and the vivid materials he filmed," and also conveyed the story that executive producer Jang Young-joo made the film to overcome the "pitiful situation" in some parts of South Korea where the Gwangju Democratization Movement is claimed to be the work of North Korean armed forces.
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