Abstract

The youth-focused policy of Kim Jong-Un’s government is distinctive, as it is publicized and emphasized more actively than that of the previous Kim Jong-Un government. This government is publicizing youth-focused theory and policy extensively through the media and frequently propagating political performances that reflect it. On Chosun Central TV, which is North Korea’s public media, propagation broadcasts are employed for the active reflection of “youth-focused thought,” and coverage on youth policy has recently increased. In addition, the form of “youth” that was recently idealized by the Kim Jong-Un government is repeatedly evident in the broadcasted contents. This thesis focused on the idealized youth model and its political implications in relation to contents broadcasted by the Kim Jong-Un government, which can be seen as a general narrative trend in Chosun Central TV programs broadcasted after Kim Jong-Un seized power in North Korea. Therefore, the Kim Jong-Un government is aware of the subject youth and shows a tendency to try to change the narrative form along these lines. From the perspective of contents, the young generation is represented on the surface of the narration by modern images through the symbols of scientific technology, apartments, cultural facilities, however, the deep layer of narration plainly shows a political intention to embrace the desire unconditionally as a public ethics despite the appearance of private desire.In other words, the subject youth tends to be surrounded in the narration of the Kim Jong-Un era. Therefore, the Kim Jong-Un government extensively represents the young generation as social subjects through the media according to the youth-focusing policy, but young people themselves do not become authentic subjects through this narration. This represents a problem for representation. Discussing the phenomenon whereby the ideal youth model recently set up by the Kim Jong-Un government is repeatedly represented on TV media through narration, this thesis considers that this phenomenon disproves the view current political compulsion toward private desire germinated in the young North Korean generation by the Kim Jong-un government should be embraced by public ethics. It can be argued that the real conditions of the young generation are different, reflecting worries about their change in identify under the Kim Jong-Un regime. In other words, it implies that the Kim Jong-Un government is using changes in the young generation as the appearance of private desire originating from indications of social class differentiation, and with the generational model the government wants to delay the social change as much as possible. So, the calling for youth as a social subject on TV media in North Korea is just a surface phenomenon. However, it is necessary to pay attention to the start of this social shift. This year, an exceptional film from North Korea depicting a young man who realizes his individual dreams and ideals by transcending the fate determined by the communist party was released on TV and mass media. This can be seen as an expression of concern about how Kim Jong-Un’s government should include the desires of the young generation in particular.