North Korea Promotes the Inheritance of Goguryeo’s Martial Spirit by Kim Jong Il
North Korea has completed its animated series Gojumong, using it to promote its own historical legitimacy and tradition.
On August 12, Choson Sinbo, the official newspaper of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, reported that Gojumong, which first aired in 2016, finished production of its 50th episode in February and is currently being broadcast. The series covers the history from the time the protagonist Jumong's father Haemosu and mother Ryu Hwa formed a family, to Jumong's founding of Goguryeo and his death.
The head of the production company, the Steel Joseon 4·26 Animation Studio, told Choson Sinbo, "Many people have expressed that through the historical animated film Gojumong, they have gained a deeper and richer understanding of King Dongmyeong, who founded the thousand-year-strong Goguryeo, as well as the history of our country and the living conditions of its people around the time of Goguryeo's founding."
In the 1990s, North Korea undertook a "correcting history" campaign, restoring the tombs of Dangun, King Dongmyeong, and Wang Geon, and established a historical framework that connects Gojoseon-Goguryeo-Balhae-Goryeo-Joseon-North Korea. These efforts were also active in the academic field: at North Korea's request, the Goguryeo Tombs were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004, and in 2017, following the instructions of Chairman Kim Jong Un, the "Goguryeo Series" was published to strengthen the academic foundation of Goguryeo history.
In the arts, North Korea has consistently produced works set in Goguryeo, including the animation Gojumong, as well as "Boy General" and "Prince Hodong and Princess Nakrang." Through these works, North Korea claims that the martial spirit emphasized in Goguryeo has been inherited as the Songun (military-first) ideology, which prioritized national defense during the era of National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong Il, thus linking Goguryeo's valor to the current regime.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
