North Korea releases new animation episodes on Goguryeo kingdom founder

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

North Korea

Wed, November 29, 2023 | 11:51

North Korea releases new animation episodes on Goguryeo kingdom founder

Posted : 2018-10-05 15:50

Updated : 2018-10-05 15:50

A scene from episode 20 of North Korean animation "Gojumong," in which hero Jumong and heroine Soseono feature. Captured from DPRK Today's YouTube channel

By Jung Da-min

North Korea's premier April 26 Animation Studio recently released new episodes ― Nos. 21 and 22 ― of its showpiece 3D history animation "Gojumong" that depicts the story of King Dongmyeong of Goguryeo (37 B.C.-A.D. 668).

King Dongmyeong is widely known by his birth name Jumong, with his last name being Go.

According to North Korea's propaganda website Arirang-Meari's Friday report, the new episodes depict Jumong's love story with Soseono, Jumong's wife and the mother of the founder of the Baekje kingdom (18 B.C.-A.D. 660)

The fictional love story between Jumong and Soseono also is widely known in South Korea, with the 2006 MBC drama titled "Jumong" becoming a hit.

The North Korean animation of Gojumong's story, however, is different from South Korean dramas in depicting details of ancient Korea.

For example, it features an ancient kingdom called "Guryeo." North Korea's history academics have been arguing since the early 2000s that Guryeo was a country that existed before the foundation of Goguryeo, something unfamiliar in the South.