Introduction

This chapter introduces the situation of literature and arts in North Korea, the position and function of kurimchaek and a definition of the terms kurimchaek, graphic novel, comics and sequential image format. Kurimchaek is not only for the education of workers, especially youth and children, but also contributes to broadening their common knowledge of nature and society. In An Understanding of North Korean Comics, Kim Songhun and Pak Sohyon identify five key characteristics: absence of entertainment, absence of characters, absence of emotion, and absence of performance and simplistic dialogue. In South Korean scholarship, North Korean comics and animation are at times also approached from a political perspective – to inform inter-Korean cooperation or policy suggestions for future reunification. Fredrick Wertham singled out the widely read so-called 'crime comic books' whose harmful effects he argued were unknown to society at large, escaping the critical attention of school authorities, parents, the media and the press.