North Korea’s Mundane Revolution: Socialist Living and the Rise of Kim Il Sung, 1953–1965

Andre Schmid’s North Korea’s Mundane Revolution: Socialist Living and the Rise of Kim Il Sung, 1953–1965 is a welcome addition to the field of North Korean studies. The volume offers a nuanced and comprehensive examination of everyday life in postwar North Korea, with a particular focus on gender and domesticity. It also stands out as one of the first English-language academic studies to delve into apartment life in North Korea during the 1950s and 1960s.Schmid argues that the North Korean Party-state employed gender as a fundamental tool to shape and maintain social order in everyday work and domestic life during a period of rapid socialist transformation. Central to his analysis is the concept of “New Living,” a state-sponsored initiative aimed at modernizing family life and reforming social norms in line with broader socialist and nationalist objectives. Although gender equality laws and women’s organizations were formally established as part of New Living practices, Schmid contends that their implementation was uneven and that patriarchal norms persisted, complicating the narrative of women’s emancipation under socialism.In the broader scholarly context, North Korea’s Mundane Revolution builds on and extends the work of previous scholars like Suzy Kim, who have explored gender and everyday socialist life in North Korea.1 Schmid’s unique contribution lies in his focus on the domestic sphere as a crucial site where state control and biopolitics intersect. He explores policies and public narratives surrounding gender-segregated dormitories, daycare facilities, and notions of a happy home, mother-workers, and unhappy housewives. Schmid reveals how women were further drawn into efforts to address labor shortages in housing construction while also being tasked with adapting to the Party-state’s shifting expectations for household consumption (169). Through this exploration, his research illuminates how domestic campaigns and narratives were designed to manipulate gender norms—mobilizing women for the socialist economy while still holding them responsible for upholding traditional domestic roles. By bringing to light previously underexplored cases, Schmid demonstrates the profound impact of these gendered initiatives on the everyday lives of North Koreans.One of Schmid’s key contributions is his analysis of how the depoliticization of gender and family issues was employed to support the state’s gender and body politics. By “depoliticizing rather than radicalizing” gender issues (41), Schmid argues that this approach of North Korean society effectively suppressed potential discontent and often curtailed women’s opportunities to advocate for more progressive changes. This insight provides readers with a deeper understanding of how North Korea navigated and sustained the tension between its socialist ideals and the patriarchal realities that continued to persist within society.Methodologically, Schmid draws on a wide array of sources, including propaganda cartoons, illustrations, legal texts, and personal letters, to construct a multifaceted depiction of the depoliticization of everyday life in North Korea. His use of these diverse sources offers a nuanced understanding of how ordinary North Koreans, including cartoonists and writers, navigated the social and Party-state expectations imposed on them, often using subtle or satirical responses to address gender and social issues. Schmid’s research aligns with recent scholarly efforts to broaden the focus of North Korean studies beyond high-level political events, examining the engagement of ordinary people—both men and women—with the state’s vision of modern socialist living.Schmid’s examination of Kim Il Sung’s personality cult further engages with the broader scholarly discourse on how the intersection of politics and daily life has historically shaped postwar society in the DPRK. He argues that the portrayal of Kim Il Sung as the ultimate problem solver for mundane concerns was crucial in strengthening his personality cult. The connection between Kim’s cult and domestic spaces, alongside a culture of criticism and propaganda addressing everyday issues, contributed to the development of North Korea’s distinctive New Living practices, reinforcing Kim’s authority. Through this analysis, readers gain insight into how exploring domestic life and everyday experiences in North Korea contributes to a deeper understanding of Kim Il Sung’s rise and, more broadly, the socioeconomic, cultural, and political reconstruction of North Korea.One area that invites further inquiry is how future research might extend beyond the focus on Kim Il Sung to explore the roles of other actors involved in the depoliticization of gender and class issues within North Korean domesticity. In the introduction, while Schmid convincingly argues that this depoliticization process was driven by the reluctance of “Kim Il Sung to unleash social power against established social formations” (10), the book also suggests that the masculine Party-state’s power and the complex nature of gendered daily practices involved a broader range of actors. These might include male-centric leadership, mainstream intellectuals, or everyday men who resisted the full implementation of gender equality in their private lives, as well as women who navigated these policies to advance their own social and political positions. Future studies that delve deeper into these individual contributors could offer a richer understanding of the dynamics at play in the evolution of gender practices within North Korea’s domestic spaces and beyond.North Korea’s Mundane Revolution is a seminal work that provides a fresh perspective on the complexities of socialist state-building and the gendered lived realities of North Korean people. Schmid’s meticulous research and insightful analysis make this book an essential read for scholars of Korean studies, gender studies, and the history of socialist development. It not only deepens our understanding of North Korean everyday history but also enriches broader discussions on the intersections of gender, state power, domesticity, and everyday life in both the postwar socialist and capitalist worlds.