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Koen de Ceuster on the NKNews Podcast about North Korean art

Koen de Ceuster, university lecturer for Korea Studies at the Leiden University Institute for Area Studies, was interviewed on the NKNews Podcast about art in North Korea. He speaks about the role of art in North Korean society, art ‘business’, and argues why it is not possible to separate propaganda from the ‘real’ North Korea.

'I noticed when people talk about North Korean art, particulary collectors, they like to make a distiction between propaganda and art,' De Ceuster tells on the podcast. 'They like to point out that in North Korea, you have 'real' artists and they are forced to do propaganda work, and propaganda work is not interesting. But besides that, they do produce proper art that shows their skill, their talent, their genius.' De Ceuster explains this way of thinking is a mistake: 'In fact, that is a fundamental misundestanding of art and how it is organised and functions in North Korean society. But it also misundestands the artists and how they function in North Korean society.'

Do you want to know more?

Listen to the NKNews Podcast featuring Koen de Ceuster via this link.

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