culture

Art and literature production activities are encouraged among ordinary working people as well as writers in the DPRK.

The encouragement of mass literature in the country can be witnessed through the June 4 Literature Prize which is conferred on working people, who created excellent novels, poems and works of children’s and dramatic literature, in the name of the Central Committee of the Writers Union of Korea.

Chairman Kim Jong Il took measures for developing literature production on a mass basis on June 4 1977. Instituted in March 1982 to commemorate the day, the prize is awarded to those who produced mass literary works excellent in ideological and artistic qualities every year.

Everybody, irrespective of occupation, can receive the prize if they display wisdom and talents for the production of works with love for literature.

The Central Committee of the Writers Union of Korea registers the persons, who aspire after literature and display talents, as mass literature correspondents and offers them an intensive short course annually for a certain period of time.

In the past, the prize fostered the dream for creation among mass literature correspondents and fired broad masses of people with the zeal for that.

Many works have been published in newspapers and magazines or adapted in different forms of art and literature including drama and film.

Ju Ok Yang, former girl lathe operator of the Ryongsong Machine  Complex who created a selection of poems “We will climb Mt Paektu everywhere” which was popular among the Korean people, was also the winner of the prize.

Among them, there is a special-class honoured disabled soldier.

Asked about the secret of producing a poem favoured by readers although he has no legs and an arm, his wife attributed the success to grateful mentors including writers of the WUK Central Committee who visited his home for a long period and gave creative lessons, and referred to the labour and life in the DPRK society which are just the poem and song themselves.

A young worker of a building maintenance station was awarded the prize for a poem singing of noble-minded people who help and lead one another forward.

Workers, farmers and other ordinary people received the prize and win the love of people as they mirror their life into voluminous novels.

Their works are read regularly among the people since they depict the deep love for native land, and encourage many people who love literature to pursue the dream for creation.