North Korean Science Fiction: Land Reclamation and Marine Resources Management

Abstract

In my research, I utilize the theory of blue ecocriticism in North Korean science fiction. The theory of blue ecocriticism emerged due to the environmental damage caused by “frontier mentality”: providing ownership and mandating humans to conquer and subjugate the land. Through exploring and comparing texts that were published in different time periods — 1960s and early 2000s — I propose the emergence of blue ecocriticism in North Korean science fiction. I examine two texts, “Land Arose From Ocean” (Padaesŏ sosanan ttang, 1964-1965) and “Make the Sea Blue/Make the Ocean Blue” (Padarŭl p'urŭge hara, 2004). I focus on how authors raise awareness about environment sustainability and rehabilitation as time shifts, using the ocean as a chronotope. I mostly concentrate on the transition of landscapes and their utilizations throughout the time-period and examine how these approaches guide readers towards the eco-friendliness of the nation. Overall, I argue that compared to “Land Arose From Ocean”, ecocritical tropes become more obvious in recent works like “Make the Sea Blue/Make the Ocean Blue”. Compared to “Land Arose From Ocean” where environmental concerns are hidden, the author's own subjectivity regarding the necessity of rehabilitating and sustaining the marine ecosystem could be easily seen in “Make the Sea Blue/Make the Ocean Blue”. This submission contains the first section of my research and is entitled, “North Korean Science Fiction: Land Reclamation and Marine Resources Management”.