The respected Comrade
"Patriotism is whole-hearted devotion to the country and people."
Now, with the development of human civilization and social political system, the women who take up the half of world population are playing more important roles day by day.
During the prolonged period of history, the women had been the victims of social inequality, aggression and war, slave trade and family violence amid shackles of gender discrimination, and they couldn't take the right position in various fields of social lives and exercise their rights to the full.
Therefore in the battle against the foreign invaders if there was a woman who performed feat was regarded as a legend.
In feudal states few women like queens and empresses had national political affairs under their thumbs. And their stories had been recorded in the history as remarkable fact.
However, at the dawn of 20th century, there has been significant change in the position and role of women in the process in which the conflict between aggression and anti-aggression, progress and conservatism, justice and injustice, equality and inequality reaches its extreme and the advance for state sovereignty and national development, social justice and genuine human right is promoted more than ever in the worldwide scale. Many women who are marking their own political rings as the heads of states and the leaders of parties can be found in different countries. The women form every social strata compete with men shoulder to shoulder not only in work places but also in the fields of literature, art, education, public health and sport as well as the increase of defense capabilities and space development.
Such changes have brought about a dramatic turning point in creation of artistic images of heroines in the field of literary art including the feature film, in which they reflect their characters and their lives.
The image of heroines depicted in feature films of DPRK varies according to their politico-ideological levels, mental and moral trait, socio-historical environment and life history, but they have several things in common.
In particular, the great significance in the characterization of the heroines depicted in the feature films of DPRK is the one of noble consciousness to safeguard the destiny of country and nation by sacrificing themselves.
Within a century in Korea, two wars broke out and division has existed for over 70 years.
Such history and reality made people of DPRK experience the miserable conditions of victims who were deprived of their own country and therefore let them grow consciousness to safeguard the destiny of the country and the nation at any coast on their own strength.
Film artists of DPRK focused on creation of feature films with concrete ideological stand and carried into the films the images of many women who struggled to safeguard the destiny of the country and the nation in resistance against domination and aggression by outside forces.
First of all, the female fighters who participated in arduous anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle to contribute to the liberation of motherland were depicted as heroines.
One of the most vital subject matter in the feature films of DPRK is the fact that the revolutionaries struggled against the Japanese imperialists' colonial rule.
The genuine patriots of DPRK contributed significantly to sink Japanese fascists who dreamed of "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" into the abyss of ruin by anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle which they did for about 20 years.
Many participants in this struggle were women.
The feats of many female fighters who bravely took part in the struggle to rescue the country which was reduced to the colony were literally described in the feature films.
Firstly, some feature films of DPRK which depicted the true and impressive courses of commonest women of perceiving the truth of revolutionary, participating in the revolutionary struggle to safeguard the destiny of country and nation, beyond the boundary of their families, were created.
"The Flower Girl" and "The Sea of Blood" are feature films of DPRK which adapted the immortal classic masterpieces created by Comrade
The feature films of DPRK titled "The Flower Girl" was the masterpiece which was awarded a special prize in the 18th Carlobivary International Film Festival in Juche 61(1972).
In the film, the common girl who could be found in any villages of DPRK plays the part of heroine. Her family in poverty and absence of rights underwent only misfortunes for a long time.
She realized through her life experience that only by the struggle, she could save the destiny of herself, her family, even her country and people, and so she grew into a female revolutionary fighter.
The feature film of DPRK "The Sea of blood" with the late 1930s as its setting, also depicted the life in detail and made an elaborate use of film methods to leave deep impression of women of DPRK in the process to grow into a revolutionary.
The heroine of this film was so simple and honest rural woman, illiterate enough to ask "why did Japanese come to our country?" She was then awakened to class consciousness under the influence of the family members and revolutionary organization, and eventually became the chief of the anti-Japanese Women's Association, the leader of the armed uprising. Depicting this course truly without any fiction or exaggeration, this film taught us the truth with vivid artistic scenes that they should brave through the blood sea of sufferings and fight against the invaders bravely.
Such films left deep impression to people through the course in which the women matured ideologically and mentally to realize that the responsibility to save the destiny of the country and the nation was not for only men, and thus joined the ranks of patriotic struggle.
Also recorded in the history of feature films of DPRK are those with female fighters who waged the bloody struggle against the large army of Japanese imperialists in the guerrilla battlefield as models.
Many women in DPRK hold the guns just like man and went through all kinds of adversities in the mountains fighting staunchly for independence of the motherland and liberation of women.
Such heroic struggle was described concretely in many feature films such as "I Can still See Victory in the Revolution", "The Sister of the Company", "Rhododendron", which showed how greatly the women contributed to the sacred war for national liberation as brave guerrilla fighters and experienced underground activist based on the true fact.
In the next place, the heroic and merited women who performed feats in Korean liberation war, of the 1950s were depicted as heroines in the feature films of DPRK.
The three-year Korean liberation war, commonly known as Korean War was an extremely hard–fought war.
In this war, women of DPRK never hesitated to roll into the bottom of the enemy tank with grenades and covered the wounded soldier in the pouring bullets and led guerrilla army in the occupied area. That's not all. The merited people in the rear war were recorded in the history of victory as women with strong faith and the models of revolutionary optimists.
Therefore, these heroines and military women became the heroines of feature films of DPRK including "The Story of a Nurse", "A Single Heart", "My Happiness", "Formation of Girl-Piloted Raider", "Three Sisters-in-Law in Kumgang", "My Mother was a Hunter", "Engine Crewwomen", and "She Was a Student".
The feature film of DPRK "The Story of a Nurse" depicted Kang Yon Ok who was based on the record of battle of Republic heroine An Yong Ae to show the genuine member of Workers' Party of Korea through vivid artistic description. At the same time, it proved that the enemies cannot win the power of DPRK in which the women turned out in the decisive battle as they could not live as the slaves of outside force.
The feature film of DPRK "A Single Heart" tells us the story about Sin Pho Hyang and the working class of the then Ragwon Machine Building Factory who devoted their whole thing for the munitions production during the war.
The forerunners of this struggle are proudly called as "10 members of Ragwon" in our country.
Not only An Yong Ae and Sin Pho Hyang but also the women of Jang San-ri, 3 sisters-in-law of Kumgang, female pilots, train crews, student political operatives and female soldiers of the volunteer corps were depicted as heroines in the feature films. And the films depicting female reconnoiterers and the security officers are still popular among the audience.
Next, the Korean People's Army female officers and soldiers who are standing at the defense posts in military uniforms to safeguard the national peace and public peace as well as the families of military personnel and merited army helpers were depicted as heroines.
Korea can be seen as a country surrounded by a very special environment among more than 200 countries on the earth.
The women, who followed in the footsteps of the revolutionary forerunners, regard defending the country with arms as their duty and honor developing the tradition of revolutionary martyrs. And the titles of families of military personnel and servicemen are being the pride of every family in this country.
In accordance with such trend and social atmosphere, the films about the life of soldiers and families of personnel as well as about helping the army, take up most part of film production.
Feature films of DPRK with officers as heroines like "On the Road of Military Service" and "Courageous Girls", the films with young female soldiers as heroines like "Notes of a Woman Soldier" and "The Daisy Girl", the films with officers' wives as heroines like "Wish" and "Bright Sunshine" and those who depicted beautiful ideological world of a mother who sent all of her sons to the army and of a grandmother who regarded the soldiers as her own offspring like "Mother's Happiness" and "Sons" are produced in large numbers.
These films reflect the common desire of women of DPRK who regard national defense as the undoubted duty and the military affair as the most vital national affair.
The film of DPRK"On the Road of Military Service" which was created in Juche 90(2001) is the peculiar film which put up a new and meaningful topic about the true meaning of service and genuine features of a soldier. The film thoroughly indicates that the feature of a soldier doesn't lie in the uniform but in the spirit.
The film "Notes of a Woman Soldier" created in Juche 92(2003) is the film which drew out the descriptive conclusion of weight through the life of a young female recruit. The film drew out the ideological conclusion that one should cherish the motherland deep in heart wherever they stand through the ordinary life of a female recruit.
The soldiers of DPRK including the women regard the service for national defense as their honor and duty, and therefore Korean War films vividly show that the army with such a powerful ideological might is the genuine powerful army
The Korean films have their own power.
The feature films of DPRK show the heroism of the ordinary people and eliciting the assertion of weight from the simple and honest depiction, it teaches the audience the truth of life and the true way of life.
As it is mentioned about the depiction of the noble consciousness of the women of DPRK to safeguard the country and the national destiny covers the periods of two wars and the long historic process ever after, and thus had the most important significance in the depiction of the heroines' characters.
