Brothers or not? The failure of Morning of the East, the first joint Soviet–North Korean film

ABSTRACT

This paper studies the reasons for the banning of the first joint Soviet–North Korean film in history by North Korean authorities. Morning of the East, released in the Soviet Union as Brothers, was directed by Cheon Sang-in, Yun Yong-kyu, Vasily Losev and Ivan Lukinsky in 1957. Involving cooperation of both countries at each stage of production, it was filmed in the Gorky Film Studio and in natural locations in North Korea. Despite the significant involvement of the Korean intelligentsia and strong promotion of the film in DPRK magazines, the film was banned from distribution inside the country. The article provides historical background to the film production, and argues that the ban of Morning of the East cannot be explained by any political event alone. Rather, the film itself, heavily influenced by new trends in Soviet Thaw cinema, contrasted with the North Korean vision of socialist realism. Based on primary sources, and by providing historical context and film analysis, this article presents the history of an unsuccessful attempt to introduce the cinematic language of de-Stalinization into North Korean cinema.

KEYWORDS:

• North Korean cinema
• soviet cinema
• soviet–North Korean relations
• brothers
• morning of the east

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Even Comrade Kim Goes Flying (Gim dongmuneun haneul eul nanda, Kim Kwang-hun, Anja Daelemans, Nicholas Bonner), commonly presented as the first Western film co-production in North Korea, was far from the first of its kind. Already in 1958, a group of French filmmakers entered North Korea via China and realized Moranbong (Moranbong, une aventure coréenne, Claude-Jean Bonnardot, 1960) with a Korean crew. See personal website of Armand Gatti, the film’s screenwriter: https://www.archives-gatti.org/films-realises/ (Access: April 4, 2022)

2 We are not aware of the mention of the film Brothers in any book on the history of the Soviet cinema.

3 Three Soviet–North Korean films were made during this period: One Second for a Feat (Yeongwon han jeonu Eldor Urazbayev, Om Gil-sen, 1985); From Spring to Summer (Bom buteo yorreum kkaji, Nikita Orlov, Pak San-bok, 1988) and The Shore of Salvation (Guwon ui giseuk, Arya Dashiyev, Ryu Ho-son, 1990).

4 We used a dubbed Russian version of the film – it is not certain whether the North Korean version of the film has survived. The Russian version can be watched on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahTwdR59vyM&feature=emb_title

5 See Jun Jee-nee (2021) for discussion on A Partisan Maiden (ppalchisan ui cheonyeo, Yun Yong-gyu, 1954) and its relation to the Soviet film Zoya (Lev Arnshtam, 1944). Other example is Young Partisans (sonyeon ppalchisan, Yun Yong-gyu, 1951) a North Korean respond to The Young Guard (Molodaya gvardiya, Sergei Gerasimov, 1941).

6 See the discussion in Hall (2020, 104).

7 Lee Ji-sue (63), mentioned by the name Choe Gug-in (director department), I Gyeong-jin (scenario department), Han Jin (scenario department, real name Han Dae-yong), Yan Weon-sig, Gim Jong-hun, I Jin-hwan, Jeong In-gu (all students at the photography department), and Heo Ung-bae himself asked for asylum.

8 See entries on Kim Seong-gu in the North Korean Art and Culture Dictionary (online, accessed: 08 August, 2022): http://nks.ac.kr/Word/View.aspx?id=1805

9 The approach towards love changed with Shin Sang-ok’s engagement in DPRK cinema in the 1980s, see Gabor Sebo (2018, 126–129).

10 See the study on North Korean dance in Yang (2021).

11 The Polish Red Cross Mission operated between 1953 and 1956. The Hospital was built and fully equipped by the Polish side. Overall, 192 Polish doctors worked in North Korea. For a record of the work of the medical personnel see memoir by Andrzej Braun (1956).

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the research grant 2022/45/N/HS2/00131 financed from the funds of the National Science Centre, Poland.

Notes on contributors

Roman Husarski

Roman Husarski received his PhD degree in Culture and Religion Studies in the Institute of Religious Studies at the Jagiellonian University. He currently conducts a research grant from the National Science Centre (Poland) on the evolution of the myth of Kim Il-sung in North Korean cinema. His research interests are in modern Korean myths, cinema and the relationship between state and religion.

A. Sokolin

A. Sokolin is an MA graduate of the International Security and Development programme at the Jagiellonian University. He has worked as a journalist covering the Korean Peninsula, and currently is the data correspondent at NK News.