| Soldiers on the Cultural Front: Developments in the Early History of North Korean Literature and Literary Policy Subjects: Literature and state -- Korea (North); Socialist realism in literature; Korean literature -- Korea (North) -- Soviet influences; Politics and literature -- Korea (North); Authors Korean -- Korea (North) -- Political and social views; Political purges --; An understanding of contemporary North Korea's literature is virtually impossible without an investigation of its formative period, 1945-1960, which saw a gradual transformation from the initial "Soviet era" to a Korean version of "national Stalinism." This turbulent epoch established a long-lasting framework for North Korean literature and set up an elaborate system of political control over literary matters, as well as over the people who served in this field. |