Fairy tales like myth, legend, and folk tale are essential cultural elements to recover homogeneity of North and South Korea. The character of fairy tales as a basic culture is shown in the realization of proto-type image of nation, which secures the identity as an ethnic community. Accordingly, it is of help to have a cultural sense of community between North and South with common proto-type image of the spirit of fairy tales inherited down to present by our nation. But, it must be pointed out that it seems impossible to find out the original form in the fairy tales of current north Korea when the ideological and institutional characteristics are considered.
The fairy tales in North Korea are means for official communication to serve as a ‘weapon to enlighten laborers.’ If the way to keep ethnical identity as the Korean nation in this divided country, a narrative to restore the narrative proto-type through the process of confirmation of the variation by ruling ideology of North Korea is desirable. From this point, this study examines the structure and character of plot in the narrative of ‘Nokjokbuin? in Pyongyang-ji published in North Korea in 1957 after the permanent division of the two during the Korean war.
“Nokjokbuin(A)” has a possibility of variation to the narrative deleting class discrimination image by making Nokjokbuin to be commoner and also to expose the feudal ruling class at the phrase in showing the separation of mother and son. The process of the separation of mother and son is progressed to remove heroic narrative character and mythical meaning in the existing story.
And, “Nokjokbuin(B)” reduces the subjective status of Nokjokbuin and expresses Euljimundeok as its subjective status. It also intensifies historicity by accommodating the Euljimundeok story resulting in the expression of patriotic struggle. The contents of the plot are structured irregularly to express the subject. In particular, it is of importance as resources that the narrative of Nokjokbuin has been revised to link to Euljimundeok, an element to certify and evaluate as a representing narrative of ‘anti-invasion and patriotic struggle myth.?
As such, the structure and character of “Nokjokbuin(A)” and “Nokjokbuin(B)” demonstrates that the fairy tales in North Korea have been planned and revised actively to cultivate a patriotic ideology. These resources confirm that the identity of initial stage in which diverse versions of Nokjokbuin tales were existed during the Japanese occupation and division of North and South. The tale of Pyongyang-ji demonstrates that even in the mid 1950s the system of fairy tales of North Korean type has already been operated.
The fact that the infusion of ruling ideology to the fairy tales of North Korea in the such an early stage from the division of the country implies the seriousness of cultural separation between North and South.