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CowFromGroceryStore

I mean for what it is it’s pretty well done


HeyCarpy

The composition & lighting are pretty masterful, I gotta say. I even like the brush technique


HeleGroteAap

Also subtle details like the UN has old audio equipment when NK has reports with modern devices or even the UN flag is all droopy and kinda too big to fit the pole whilst the NK flag looks neat


ShepPawnch

I see what you mean with the flags, but it looks like the audio equipment and video camera are pretty normal for the 1950s, and the North Korean woman has a pretty normal camera too.


Thin-Chair-1755

Idk if I’d say anything here is subtle lol


ryencool

And the North Koreans are taller than the westerners, despite the average male in NK being 5'5" according to ancient numbers. The average women's height in the US is 5'4" and males are 5'10. So the average American is almost half a foot taller than the average NK citizen. I'd wager the averages are even lower now but there are no recent studies.


JuggaloEnlightment

They seem to be painted around the same height; it’s just the difference in posture


ComradeHenryBR

I'd imagine that difference would be much less pronounced (or outright non existent) in the 1950s


PhiladelphiaFlyr

“Look at that subtle off-white coloring. The tasteful thickness of it. Oh my God. It even has a watermark.”


Henderson-McHastur

I think it's telling how the person signing the armistice on the American side isn't even Korean. The painter signals that this was a war between Korea and foreign powers, not a civil war.


New-Coconut8850

I'm not a commie nor NK sympathizer, but historically speaking, yes South Korea wasn't present when signing armistice. It was signed by the US, NK and China. Edit: Apparently they were invited but refused to show up.


InsaneLeeter

They were invited; they refused to come as the president wanted a united korea.


glucklandau

The fact that you need to preface it with the first line before presenting a historical fact is what I hate about reddit


sEcgri836

Because ROK protested the armistice.


planchetflaw

[https://youtu.be/MxWszWBARd0?si=hPbu8stt0n0omEDJ&t=63](https://youtu.be/MxWszWBARd0?si=hPbu8stt0n0omEDJ&t=63) and [https://youtu.be/MxWszWBARd0?si=wZPgXQGRSI4BrlsV&t=80](https://youtu.be/MxWszWBARd0?si=wZPgXQGRSI4BrlsV&t=80)


zatara1210

It’s funny how there’s a painting of the camera man recording such a historic event but there’s no video footage of that event to be found


fudge_friend

But did you even look? https://youtu.be/MxWszWBARd0?si=mYZtAaSKKcxYTAcu


Onironius

NON. TO. BE. FOUND.


Gidia

NO. E’S. EITHER.


Rampaging_Orc

How does this have so many upvotes lmao.


mrhuggables

the fact that this comment is upvoted when there is literally footage everywhere of this event, is testament to the reddit hivemind


m8_is_me

NK is also shown to be "taller"


J3wb0cca

Not even glorious communist sun is shining on the capitalist pigs.


SashaTheWitch2

Man, sometimes I genuinely forget that the NK regime pretends to have aspirations of becoming communist, it’s so clearly just an autocrat ruling over the masses from the outside 😕


JibTheJellyfish

Based sun


bloodycups

I like it but than I saw the guy with a cloth wiping sweat off his face and that's just a little too dramatic


Delta_Suspect

To be fair, the painter was probably under threat of having their brains painted across the wall if they fucked up


deliranteenguarani

And man holy shit those threats work thats a masterpiece


GUARDIAN_MAX

i dont get this stuff nk is a shit place to live in bcz its poor asf but i feel like people despite that still try to make up even more ridiculous claims about nk like the law that "everyone has to get the same haircut" or that one nk defector that just says the most unhinged things on a daily basis and gets paid to do so


poilk91

You know being a totalitarian police state is also a real bummer on top of being poor regardless of how many haircuts you can get


GUARDIAN_MAX

i agree which is why i find it ridiculous that people lie ab the pettiest dumbest shit instead of actual critique of conditions in nk


poilk91

It's an enigmatic place by design, that kind of unknown often leads to imagination and speculation run rampant and people generally believe dumb lies if its an interesting anecdote or a fun fact. It's Marilyn Manson and his ribs all over again


irongi8nt

almost like the artist life depended on getting it right


mysilvermachine

That is undeniably good propaganda.


Nerdiferdi

Credit where credit is due. Every single detail and decision is masterful. It’s been on this sub before and I remember some threads going into very great detail


mtarascio

Guy with sweat rag is a complete caricature and very out of place.


notacop1312

How? It's supposed to symbolise the west/US


Connect44

Personally, I think they got the lighting on him wrong. They should have also painted him dark and down trodden. Unless there's a message I'm missing in him being the only well lit western leader/general and sweating.


heliophoner

That the glorious sunshine of truth, justice, and prosperity makes the unrighteous uncomfortable


johnlocke357

I think its fine. Having one character be visibly sweating and uncomfortable is a perfectly acceptable signifier to add to the general impression that the west has been forced to come the negotiating table against their will. It’s no more a “caricature” than anything else here.


heliophoner

Dig Frenchie behind him with the tight collar


Tomservo3

I dunno about details. The wedding ring on the American is on the wrong hand.


Agitated_Cake_562

A lot of the military men from the US had wives they met in Europe and followed their practice, especially the ones with German wives.


fireintolight

it's good as a propaganda piece but to call this masterful piece of art from a techical standpoint is an abuse of the word masterful, it's like people who think hitler's art is good. It really isn't. Multiple inconsistencies with lighting and perspective and other fundamental things. Sure it can get the point they were trying to make across, but masterful? jesus


SSebigo

You think this is at the same level as Hitler's art? My brother... you're lost, ain't no way you think this is as bad in any way shape or form as the nazi man art.


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ShadowOfThePit

Interessant


lightiggy

For those curious, [here is the actual photo of the signing of the armistice](https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryPorn/comments/15atadk/us_lt_general_william_k_harrison_jr_l_and_nk_lt/).


felipe5083

Lmao, way to embellish the details.


GarfieldVirtuoso

No sweaty admiral and no cute north korean photographer? I feel betrayed


DBerwick

Well obviously the cute photographer is taking the picture. That's why she's only in the painting.


GarfieldVirtuoso

I knew that North Korea would NEVER lie to me!


DBerwick

That's a good lad. Now back to the work camp with you.


TuskaTheDaemonKilla

Which is pretty funny given that the painting went to the effort to include people taking photos and video of the signing. Like, if the painting was accurate, we'd have the videos/pictures of the people in the painting, and wouldn't need the painting. It's self-defeating.


crusadertank

I am not sure if you could call it self defeating. When it comes to propaganda people don't really pay attention to details. You see this a lot with for example Top Gun aswell. Many people understand it is unrealistic propaganda. Doesnt stop people finding it really cool. And I think this is the same. You can criticise the details of it but ultimately the idea that it just "looks cool" will sway people anyway.


cheradenine66

If there are photos, people can't make art about it? Wut?


brown_felt_hat

Kinda funny imo that the painting didn't make of the fact that two of three Americans are balding, and the third is on his way. That seems like a really easy target tbh.


PapayaPokPok

I guess it depends on the audience, and I doubt this painting was meant for me, an American Redditor, lol. I remember going to a war museum in Laos, and I was very interested to see a history of the war from the other side, how they experienced it, maybe get some perspectives I hadn't heard before. Instead, it was all amazingly over the top shit-talking propaganda, and every sign was just a restating of the same "American imperialist dogs defeated by a people united by Socialist Thought..." schtick. It was really boring. And I remember thinking at the time what an incredible wasted opportunity it was, haha. I was there with an open mind, ready to be psy-op'd, but instead, I just got bored and went to a nearby cafe.


ParticularAd8919

I went to this same museum. Vientiane right? I had a very similar experience. I don’t think any mention of the French and Americans occurred on the plaques there that wasn’t immediately followed by “imperialists”.


PapayaPokPok

Exactly! That's the one!


Corregidor

Very Napoleon of them lol


DazSamueru

It's a bit too heavy-handed imo


TheUpperHand

You’ve already lost the argument for you see, I’ve painted you as the weak, defeated capitalist pig and myself as the victorious communist general.


davehunt00

Fun(?) fact: The ~~American~~ UN side left their little desk flag behind when they departed this room (it's actually a little building straddling the border if this is where I think it is). The North Koreans have it in a display case on the north side as a war trophy. Edit: I went back and looked at my photos and it was a UN flag, not a US flag that has been enshrined by the North. See a link to the image a couple comments down. Source: traveled to DPRK in 2012 and saw it personally.


Nickblove

You mean the UN flag?


davehunt00

~~No, it was an actual USA flag.~~ It's possible that this painting does not fully represent the occasion... Edit: I went back and looked at my photos and it WAS the UN flag. I'll post an image link in a minute.j Edit 2: https://imgur.com/a/JHdZ8Xm Edit 3: A better link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IFB2bIlDvv8hTC48UzR84D3l3nrp1HHU/view?usp=sharing


Nickblove

Ok, that’s what I thought you meant. The UN was the participant in the armistice agreement.


davehunt00

There was a pretty big "Death to the American Imperialists" vibe when we were there, so I conflated the two.


OpportunityLife3003

The imgur link doesn’t work?


davehunt00

Added a different one, seems to work now.


LewisLightning

The funny thing is they kept the UN flag as a war trophy and the little NK flag probably ended up in the trash afterwards. A bit ironic.


siccoblue

This comment has absolutely no right to be this funny


False-God

We began the war at the 38th parallel north and launched an invasion of our southern neighbours. China saved us from complete defeat and we ended the war more or less at the 38th parallel but now with less land and less people. [Checkmate bozo enjoy the painting](https://imagedata.cafe24.com/us_c/us_c_16-1.jpg)


act1295

Came here for this.


333elmst

Bwhahahaha


rupertdeberre

Ignoring the political context, this is a useful explanation to show how composition and mood work with colour.


Lord_Farquadiplier

This reminds me of a [painting](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Austerlitz,_2_December_1805_(G%C3%A9rard)) showing napoleon’s victory at the battle of Austerlitz. All of napoleon’s enemies are frenzied and disordered while he and his men are steady on their horses.


arist0geiton

This is an extremely common genre. Here is the Great Conde at the battle of Rocroi. The enemies aren't "frenzied and disordered," they're coming up as supplicants. As subordinates. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HeimBattleRocroy.jpg#mw-jump-to-license


FrenchieB014

Or the "reddition of Breda" the dutch are dipicted as "un organized" shown by their spears being uneven, while the Spanish spears are straight and in order, clearly showing Spanish disciplines https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Surrender_of_Breda


tigergoalie

I like how both sides have one dude who's spiking the camera.


MechanicalTrotsky

An alternate side to the same battle, brave phalanx of Spanish vs disorder of the world https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rocroi,_el_último_tercio,_por_Augusto_Ferrer-Dalmau.jpg


Oldenburgian_Luebeck

This is technically pedantic but the unit they used was called a “tercio”


sciocueiv_

This has an even clearer "us versus them" setting though


Stormygeddon

"I've drawn myself as the Chad and you as the virgin" energy.


hdfcv

Except that those aren't the enemies, and rather the French hussars and Mamluks bringing captured Russian and Austrian standards to the emperor. 


Dambo_Unchained

It’s actually a terrible piece of propaganda Murat is stealing the entire show and he’s pulling up with so much drip he’s leaking on the floor


rolsen

This poster screams “Chad North Koreans vs virgin West”.


rupertdeberre

Welcome to propaganda posters


SZ4L4Y

Memes are personal propaganda. The internet gives us powers that previously only states had.


gryphonbones

Before people had to fly over populations and drop pamphlets- now they just need a social media account.


l-askedwhojoewas

And this time it’s working


gryphonbones

It will take a generation before people are media literate enough to understand this and for regulators/social media companies to take it seriously. Only in the past few years has this become more understood- hence the push to ban tiktok. (China understood this long ago and banned many western social apps)


_spec_tre

china understood this long ago precisely because they were planning to do it all along


Antique-Pension4960

That's an illusion. It's naive to think that states don't control social media. Unwanted information will be drowned out in mass flooding by their propaganda opation. You can have comments removed for dubious reasons, made less visible or ghostbanned without knowing it. Happens like clockwork on Reddit.


DeflateGape

If the US state controlled social media, you wouldn’t see young people being routinely indoctrinated with anti American beliefs on the internet. It is astounding, unlike most redditors I was around before the internet existed and you didn’t see explicitly anti American messages in media. Sure, there was criticisms of America and American policies, but the idea that this is an evil country which shouldn’t exist was simply not something you’d see on mass media. You had to be a college freshman just getting into Chomsky to get these kinds of repackaging of Soviet/Maoist criticisms of the Us as an American. Then at least there was a moderating effect of being in college; people would challenge you with the fact that Chomsky loved Pol Pot as much as he hated the US, and you’d have to come to grips with the undesired complexity of the real world. Now all you need do is download TikTok and be immersed in these ideas in an echo chamber reminiscent of a cult programming machine, where no one will challenge Chinese propaganda. So now I get to see US kids praising Bin Laden, calling to globalize the intifada, and generally praising authoritarian countries while damning the US and allies. I wish the US government was more actively using social media as propaganda. Instead everyone that hates the US, from Russia, to China, to the Republican Party, is using the internet to radicalize unhinged lonely people into various malignant political cults who are only united by their hatred of the country that I live in.


twihard97

It’s too late Western Imperialists. I have already memed you as the Soyjack and myself as the Chad.


j_smittz

Alternate title: "When you finish the exam before everyone else."


Lawlcopt0r

Oh man I hope this becomes a meme template


AgreeableFeedback868

Looks like a loading screen from the latest Paradox game


NaKeepFighting

Communist unifier looking at germany after 2WRW


zflanders

Dude checking his watch: "These losers really need to hurry up. Don't they know I've got a threesome to get to?"


Errorterm

Lmao I love the guy checking his watch. These fuckin' capitalist pig-dogs are wasting my time and breathing my air.


Outside-Advice8203

*Our* air


Errorterm

The people's air!


KlosharCigan

No need to project your toughts on others lol


followerofEnki96

They even went for the darkness vs light cliché. Top notch


chrajohn

Someone on Twitter called the artist Juche McNaughton.


samuel-not-sam

It is over, America. I’ve already drawn you as the soyjak and myself as the chad


spongebobama

I like these propaganda paintings very much.


NewYorkVolunteer

These north koreans out here thinking they're the French at the signing of the treaty of Versailles or something huh lol


CaptainFumbles

-Wage a three year war -Lose a million and a half men -accomplish nothing -lounge about triumphantly


SashaTheWitch2

Starting a war of aggression, getting into a stalemate, and then bragging about it as a great triumph is perhaps the funniest thing a government could ever possibly do, honestly


Practical-Ninja-6770

To be fair tho, having 85% of you nation's building be bombed and destroyed and still surviving as a nation shows some sort of resilience to be proud of.


Liberast15

I think the Chinese had something to do with it


Zkang123

Till this day 27 July is their Victory Day


quite_largeboi

North Korean propaganda posters have yet to miss in my opinion 😂 They’ve got a particularly good eye for artwork


Additional-North-683

The Korean War is one of those war, where both sides say they won


Level_Werewolf_7172

The original soyjack and chad


Key-Cry-2700

Which is why the north lies about invading in the first place, otherwise they objectively lost.


Delta_Suspect

I don’t think I have ever heard anyone with an IQ above that of a McChicken ever say we won the Korean War. Last I checked everyone sensible just kinda calls it a draw.


turducken69420

Militarily it was a stalemate. But you'd have a tough time convincing me that the Korea would be better unified under a DPRK government.


Maanifest

I reckon it'd look more like modern Vietnam. Without the south to fear perhaps the nation would have eventually reform akin to most communist nations post Soviet collapse


mrRobertman

The North invaded to control the South and failed to do so. The US/UN had intervened to maintain the sovereignty of the South, which they did. While I'm sure they were wanting to unite the peninsula under the government of the South (hence why they pushed nearly to the Chinese border), but I think it's fair to say that the US/UN/ROK were largely more successful in the outcome of the war.


Blazkowiczs

The better way to put it was that SK and the US/UN achieved there set goals for the current point of the war. For NK, not so much if at all. For China though, it did keep away Western powers from being right on their border.


Nakatsukasa

Same as the China-Vietnam war


jjb1197j

It’s insane to me that the US didn’t outright defeat the Chinese and North Koreans though, especially with all the help from the allies.


Greekdorifuto

The USA probably could at the risk of nuclear war


MrLemonyOrange

The USA was supposed to stop around the current borders before the war escalated too much; no one wanted a long war, and especially not another world war when the Korean war was just to contain communism. General MacArthur wanted to fight more and asked for *nukes*, but was explicitly ordered by Truman to stop around where the current borders are today. Instead MacArthur and his ego pushed far North until China arrived, and the USA was pushed back to the current borders.


ShooteShooteBangBang

The generals were BEGGING to use nukes, literally. They basically had to end the war because they couldn't get the military to back off on using them.


Bombi_Deer

1 general wanted to use nukes, and hes was sacked by the president for repeatedly asking


Dramatic-Classroom14

Not quite, he was sacked for bad mouthing the president in public and insubordination, not for asking for nukes


titobrozbigdick

Talking mad shit for a guy that basically living on China's life support


DickDastardlySr

The entire country has been living off someone else's credit card since it came into existence.


grazfest96

Lol I love how the dude signing is in such agony.


Galaxy661

How it feels when you're the last one in class writing the test


MNxLegion

"Hyaah see, capitalist dog, i have the power of good lighting on my side!" ☝️🤓


Marcuse0

\*Inserts satellite image of NK nearly completely dark at night. \*


nagidon

It’s so simple, so comically biased, that it’s actually pretty admirable artistically.


InCodWeTrustOkay

The navy officer patting the sweat off his brow.... looks quite nervous.


GlocalBridge

I have seen the original and many others during my visit to the DPRK.


Errorterm

Sounds like an awesome trip


hyakumanben

The North Korean side even has a pretty girl! Of course they win.


Broad-Part9448

That UN flag even looks a little sadder than the NK flag


GarfieldVirtuoso

Kim Il Sung with the "Had Enough?" pose


MoreStupiderNPC

I don’t see the PRC military represented.


AyyLimao42

True. A bit of a dirty move when they were present at the armistice signing and it was the PVA/PLA who really kicked the UN forces out of North Korea.


MoreStupiderNPC

If not for China, there’d be one Korea.


Virtual-Dish-9461

I dont understand how North Korea paints itself as a Victor against American imperialism when they started the War when they invaded South Korea and they got assess handed to them on a silver platter when UN intervened and Sent them all the way to the Chinese Border until China intervened.


FizzyChilli

I think you do, the clue is in the sub's name!


OnlyRobinson

Is that Battery Sergeant Williams standing behind Sanjeev Bhaskar?


Schlieffen_Man

Not realistic, the North Koreans aren't wearing enough medals


AtomicSamuraiCyborg

Propaganda is strong. They started the war and it ended exactly where it started, minus a million dead and both Koreas devastated.


bubblemilkteajuice

Thought this was the movingtonorthkorea subreddit.


Savager_Jam

I like that the artist's references are clearly limited by the outdated state of technology in North Korea. For instance we see a journalist using what appears to be a Sony Portapack (a 1960s video camera which used an external tape recording device connected to the camera by a wire, which can be seen entering the man's shoulder bag. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portapak](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portapak) And a reel to reel tape recorder on the table taking audio.


Flash24rus

But it was in 1953 and [looked not so epic](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Korean_War_armistice_agreement_1953.jpg) ))


PrestigiousAvocado21

Well, no wonder they changed it - nothing heroic about the "signing the paperwork on a leased car" pose!


Savager_Jam

Oh, I see, the painting’s 09 but it’s of 1953. In that case the problem seems to be the opposite as that guy’s camera doesn’t appear to be a 16 or 35 mm film type.


beliberden

Hm. Well, in what year did the events in the picture take place?


Savager_Jam

It seems this is the ‘53 armistice which means we’re actually looking at the opposite problem, as in 53 that guy ought to have a film camera of some kind, maybe a Bolex maybe a Bell and Howell, but as there weren’t yet sound synch crystal mechanisms available he shouldn’t also be operating sound equipment onboard which is the only other potential use of that shoulder bag.


OK_TimeForPlan_L

Now this is the best propaganda, high end chad vs virgin memes.


HereForTOMT2

This is honestly incredible. The color choices are amazing


STAXOBILLS

Ngl it is a really good painting, then again propaganda paintings tend to be really well done


Diviancey

Propaganda aside this goes hard


Top_Rub_8986

The NK girl with the camera be like "This is going in my capitalist cringe compilation"


Elegante_Sigmaballz

Lol, they painted the North Koreans subtly bigger and taller, but yea, great painting.


Pretend-Ad4639

I immediately thought of the ‘rich Winnie the Pooh meme’ when I looked at Kim


literal_subhuman6969

thanks reddit user, u/NaKeepFighting


Imaginary_Tadpole110

I love how there's not a single Chinese or Soviet officers in sight, almost as if North Korea did it all by themselves


GameCreeper

This is... Really well made. Wow


RTB_RobertTheBruce

God DAMN this is pretty to look at


Falchion_Alpha

The money used to get food for their people was spent on this painting (goes hard tho ngl)


bvdpbvdp

no, their pictures are special level of ... XXXX! (being raised in communist country!)


Top_Rub_8986

This is basically "THE VIRGIN AMERICANS VERSUS THE CHAD NORTH KOREANS"


MESuperbia

People who read the ToS vs people who just click accept.


IAmMuffin15

“I made you the wojak and I’m the chad”


Blerpkin

For how south Korea turned out all these years after vs North Korea. Being an international economic powerhouse that south Korea has become I think fighting for that country was the right thing to do. North Korea is a failure of a country.


SaxesAndSubwoofers

Ok so on a different note, does anyone know why North Koreans always portray Americans with Ameerican-esque uniforms but not actual uniforms? Like there's often the shield and sometimes that weird hourglass symbol. Surely they have pictures of American uniforms to reference? I don't see what helps them from a propaganda standpoint to change things?


Gasmaskguy101

We look cool as the bad guy.


faithle55

It's a fake. There aren't nearly enough medals on those North Korean generals.


FoldAdventurous2022

The American officer in the back nervously wiping his sweaty brow, fucking lol


MakeCheeseandWar

Meanwhile the actual conference was much more boring


theycallmeshooting

Chad North Korea after launching a war and accomplishing literally nothing (China saved them from completely being conquered so it's a win)


poco68

I love the American Navy General is sweating big time.


Atvishees

Even in North Korean propaganda, the UN troops look *human* while the North Koreans look like shopping window mannequins.


mattamidus

I would buy this and frame it if I could.


Hashbrown4

I like the NK dude checking his watch


Pancakethysimp

I’m just gonna say it, North Korea has absolutely amazing propaganda paintings


Mahaloth

[You can see some of this moment in the video here.](https://youtu.be/HuSyYJsJZD8)


Horror-Layer-8178

Ben Garrison was in North Korea?


eriffodrol

a painting of North Koreans taking photos and recording video....


Jakesonpoint

General Potter off to the left-hand side just contemplating why he let those meatball surgeons get away with so much.


BullofHoover

Is the artist of this known? I'd like to know if he has other pieces, this is masterfully done.


EternalAngst23

I’m gonna save this and show it to my poli sci professor


DFMNE404

This is fire the North Korean propaganda is working


MadKingZilla

Say what you will about authoritarian government, the people under such government do know how to make good propaganda art. Maybe because they are threatened with their lives. Just maybe.


HappyFamily0131

I wonder what percentage of North Koreans know that the entire personality cult is a mountain of horse shit. Is it 100% or is it less than 100%? Are there true believers? Folks who just turned off their brains permanently and now sincerely love Big Brother? Or does every last one of them (other than children) know it's a scam, that it's an entire country getting robbed at gunpoint, constantly, for generations.


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