Following the release of the film “72 Hours” last February, North Korea has urged artists in all fields to adopt the movie’s “creative spirit.”
A source in North Hamgyong province told Daily NK recently that the Central Committee’s publicity and information department issued orders to that effect to party committees in each province on Oct. 18.
Following those orders, the North Hamgyong provincial party committee instructed art troupes and propaganda teams at organizations and enterprises throughout the province to “kindle actors and performers’ revolutionary passion” while emphasizing the “creative spirit behind ’72 Hours.’”
Since then, actors, directors and writers in the provincial art troupe, along with performers on propaganda teams, have been discussing how to implement new creative methods in their respective fields.
The North Korean film “72 Hours” depicts the first three days of the Korean War from North Korea’s perspective. It portrays how the North’s 105th Armored Division captured Seoul within 72 hours on orders from Kim Il Sung. The film follows the regime’s official narrative that North Korea was invaded first by American and South Korean forces in the early hours of June 25, 1950.
Kim Jong Un’s personal involvement
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took interest in the film from the earliest stages of development and was closely involved in selecting the title, writing the script, directing the acting and overseeing production.
“Kim Jong Un was deeply interested in this film. He gave the actors advice about their voices and facial expressions and helped arrange the scenes. The actors and directors regarded it as an immense honor to be directly guided by him and were so dedicated to the film’s production that they often went without sleep,” the source said.
The North Korean authorities have described “72 Hours” as a “masterpiece completed in a short time through revolutionary fervor” and defined the enthusiasm shown by the actors and crew during production as “the creative spirit behind ’72 Hours’” to which all artists should aspire.
In other words, the actors and crew were praised for treating the supreme leader’s guidance as orders to be studiously obeyed and for dedicating themselves day and night to producing the finest possible work as quickly as possible.
When the regime ordered artists in charge of propaganda to apply the “creative spirit behind ’72 Hours’” to all areas of art, it was effectively emphasizing loyalty to the supreme leader and ordering them to demonstrate the highest level of revolutionary spirit in their respective fields.
The North Korean regime stresses ideological correctness and loyalty from artists above all other professions. Since artists stand in the vanguard of propaganda and agitation, they must be totally loyal and ideologically trained if they are to persuade the public of the regime’s legitimacy.
“The order is designed to revolutionize artists on an ideological level. The regime is trying to correct the complacency that arises when carrying out revolutionary tasks and is emphasizing once again that ideological training is necessary to produce great works,” the source explained.
But these appeals have also prompted grumbling among some artists.
“People are saying that the emphasis on the ‘creative spirit behind “72 Hours”‘ ultimately represents an attempt to more strictly control artists’ ideology and intensify political and ideological censorship,” the source said.
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