Getting a glimpse of North Korean graphic designs
- 5 years ago
북한의 그래픽 디자인을 엿보다……"영국에서 온 Made in 조선"
A special exhibition, displaying a range of North Korean items, from postcards to cigarette packets is held in Seoul.
They provide a glimpse of the graphic designs seen around the regime.
Hong Yoo turns the spotlight to this unique collection.
Stepping into the exhibition, some South Koreans might feel a sense of nostalgia that takes the visitors all the way back to the 1960s.
Blue, red, yellow, white, and black, the five traditional colors of Korea, fill the posters that were designed in North Korea from the 1970s through to the late 2000s.
Packaging for Baekdu Mountain cigarettes, sweet fairy drops, and Taedonggang beer,…all designed with flat block color and smooth vector graphics.
Showing daily items such as stamp sheets, post cards, comic books and packaged food, the exhibition "Made in North Korea: Graphics from Everyday Life in the DPRK" introduces North Korean items not from a political perspective but from the view of a foreigner.
All these items were collected by Nicholas Bonner, a British national who visited North Korea in 1993 and continued to tour the country over a span of 25 years.
"Every design these days is digitalized but all the posters exhibited here are hand painted. That allows people to feel the beauty that comes from the detailed posters. Also, the colors of the items and the gallery match to make it seem like it has one whole identity."
This exhibition was first displayed earlier this year at the House of Illustration gallery in London, attracting the highest number of visitors for any exhibition since the gallery opened in 2014.
"I came here because I was curious to find out how North Korean designs show its people's daily life and how they look different from South Korea's."
"Posters like this one, which says “Let’s develop Goryeo medicine, our people’s heritage,” show how North Koreans value the importance of sticking together as “one”, and how the North Korean government uses images to try to build nation's pride."
The exhibition is open until April 7th at the Hongik Daehangno Art Center in Seoul.
Hong Yoo, Arirang News.
A special exhibition, displaying a range of North Korean items, from postcards to cigarette packets is held in Seoul.
They provide a glimpse of the graphic designs seen around the regime.
Hong Yoo turns the spotlight to this unique collection.
Stepping into the exhibition, some South Koreans might feel a sense of nostalgia that takes the visitors all the way back to the 1960s.
Blue, red, yellow, white, and black, the five traditional colors of Korea, fill the posters that were designed in North Korea from the 1970s through to the late 2000s.
Packaging for Baekdu Mountain cigarettes, sweet fairy drops, and Taedonggang beer,…all designed with flat block color and smooth vector graphics.
Showing daily items such as stamp sheets, post cards, comic books and packaged food, the exhibition "Made in North Korea: Graphics from Everyday Life in the DPRK" introduces North Korean items not from a political perspective but from the view of a foreigner.
All these items were collected by Nicholas Bonner, a British national who visited North Korea in 1993 and continued to tour the country over a span of 25 years.
"Every design these days is digitalized but all the posters exhibited here are hand painted. That allows people to feel the beauty that comes from the detailed posters. Also, the colors of the items and the gallery match to make it seem like it has one whole identity."
This exhibition was first displayed earlier this year at the House of Illustration gallery in London, attracting the highest number of visitors for any exhibition since the gallery opened in 2014.
"I came here because I was curious to find out how North Korean designs show its people's daily life and how they look different from South Korea's."
"Posters like this one, which says “Let’s develop Goryeo medicine, our people’s heritage,” show how North Koreans value the importance of sticking together as “one”, and how the North Korean government uses images to try to build nation's pride."
The exhibition is open until April 7th at the Hongik Daehangno Art Center in Seoul.
Hong Yoo, Arirang News.