BORDERLANDS
A North Korean Fashion Lover's Journey of Defection to the Borderlands of Freedom
and Oppression
Ha Eun, whose life and deep human experiences this project is based on, belongs to the Millennial Generation of North Korea - commonly known as the ‘Jangmadang Generation.’ Jangmadangs are black markets that sprung up across North Korea following the famine ‘Arduous March’ in the 1990s. Having grown up under the market economy, of which many illegal goods are being traded, these millennials grew up under capitalist influences such as foreign films and South Korean dramas. These foreign media had helped Ha Eun, and many North Korean millennials alike, to develop a mind of their own, influencing ideological and mindset transformations, and an independent interpretation of the regime.
As Ha Eun is a fashion lover back in the North, and now a fashion practitioner in Seoul, it is paramount and special that ‘Borderlands’ explores her narrative through the field of Fashion and manifests itself through fashion-related content and visual aesthetics.
Fashion is an inclination that many have all over the world, and this project hopes to provide a unique yet up-close perspective of how North Koreans experience fashion while they were back in the North. It seeks to bring out the human-side of things whilst painting an impactful narrative of North Koreans. This project - 'Borderlands' - mainly highlights the ideological changes they undergo and the relationship it has with Fashion & Media - in particular, how the exploration of fashion inspirations shown on K-dramas help them experience the culture that is of the 'outside world'. And in return, how this compounding realisation of the outside world had influenced their
eventual decision to defect.
Freedom is not without a price for North Korean defectors and this set of fashion photo narrative as well as short film follow the life of a North Korean millennial, Ha Eun, who grew up in the North.
This narrative is based on a true story of whom the creative director interviewed back in October 2019.
(Her real name has been changed in order to protect her identity.)
Borderlands;
The Film
This short fashion film features a glimpse into the life of Ha Eun - in particular her musings and exploration with fashion, and the inspirations that come from the South Korean media which she watched in secrecy.
Borderlands; The Fashion Photo Narrative
Borderlands translates the deep personal recounts of North Koreans into three main art and media forms; a short film, a set of fashion photo narrative as well as an installation (an experiential space).
The Fashion Photo Narrative serves as a re-interpretation of the story of Ha Eun. Within her interview, she had shared her stories of how she would source for clothing that were similar to that seen on the actresses of K-dramas, as well as her struggle to assimilate into her new earned freedom. Her poetic recollection, shed light on the pain of separation she faces, and the weight of decision that was mounted on her at a young age, following her decision to defect.
This set of fashion photographs were re-created with the imagination of Cheryl Faith, based on Ha Eun's personal recounts.
BORDERLANDS; THE INSTALLATION
Under Drawn Curtains
‘Borderlands; The Installation’, also titled as ‘Under Drawn Curtains’, is an experiential space for audiences to come in contact with the knowledge of the bleak realities North Koreans face while living under regime’s dictatorship.
This installation tackles the subject matter related to North Koreans on a macro level, as opposed to the short film and fashion photo narrative shown above.
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Make and Built
The main statement of the installation is The Cube, of which is fully mirrored and reflective on the inside, but see-through on the outside. It is made of a one-way mirror material.
Social Commentary
The Cube, serves as social commentary to the way North Korea is, in terms of its disparate transparency towards its regime, culture, and political agenda. The people are isolated on the inside, unable to look out into the world that is unfolding around them, only allowed to experience what the regime has curated for them. Whilst on the outside, the international community is given limited access and insights into the closed off society of North Korea, but at the same time it is shrouded in mystery. This cube is seemingly transparent to the viewers on the outside, but the true experience of claustrophobia, isolation and desolation from the 'truth' of the outside world can only be experienced by outsiders once they step into the cube and shut the door, completely sealing themselves off from the outside with the opaque mirrors closing in on them.
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The Linen
The linen both signifies the drawn curtains that North Koreans found safety under whilst consuming foreign media in secrecy, as well as the murky perception that outsiders have towards the real lives of North Koreans. More than that, the linen between the two layers also represents an air of apathy that society takes towards these issues regarding North Koreans. The act of wading way through the linen is a representation of acknowledging the truth and seeking it.
The Cube
Moving on to the cube that represents the harsh uniformed reality that North Korean defectors have to face each day - it is, from the outside is a seemingly transparent facade which may give the false illusion of the idea that transparency is there within the cube. But in reality, the user is meant to experience a rude awakening once they step into a cube - place where you cannot see anything outside, only a constant and infinite reflection of the system one is under and oneself.
The Ceiling & Old TV
The dominantly vertical structure, as well as the noticeably narrow width of the cube, and the one way mirror that can only be seen from inside, forces users to confront the fact that they are seemingly enclosed in a uniformed and claustrophobic space. The only source of the visual to the outside world is through a small hole on the ceiling of the cube - sitting upon which is a TV that is playing these South Korean dramas that North Koreans rely heavily upon for their connection to the rest of the world. It is liken to the window through which they perceive the world. Though North Korea was once fully in control of the media that its citizens get exposed to, in recent days, North Koreans are able to gain knowledge of the world outside through South Korean dramas.
South Korean Dramas
South Korean Dramas are a form of cultural exportation that South Korea has used as a form of soft power. It has impacted North Korea in an unprecedented way. Whilst many studies conduct its research on the impact that South Korean dramas and the Hallyu have on various receiving countries such as nations in the West like United States or Middle-Eastern nations like Saudi Arabia, in the same vein, this project conducted its studies on the impact of the Korean Wave on the region of North Korea.
The compelling storylines and attractiveness of South Korean dramas kept many North Koreans coming back for more. The only media that they were once exposed to were propaganda media of the state and its leader, which faints in comparison to the exciting storylines of South Korean dramas. The physical act of having to climb up upon a metal ladder, fitting through that confined and dark space and lifting your head through a hole in the ceiling, only wide enough to fit your head is a condemning and pitiful act. But the harsh reality is that this is speaks of the difficulties that North Koreans have to go through just for a mere glimpse, to find the truth of the outside world. Very often, they do it in the dead of night due to the risks involved — under dramatic secrecy of drawn curtains, for which is also represented by the linen in this installation.
Installation Design Credits -
Creative Direction: Cheryl Faith
Architect: Max Lee (Structural safety, design, and rendering)
Video Render of Borderlands; The Installation
This render seeks to help viewers understand how the installation is meant to be experienced.
User is ought to climb onto the stairs right in the middle of the cube to view the Korean dramas playing on an old TV sitting atop the narrow opening of the cube. It is a reflection of the way North Koreans go through hard ship to catch a glimpse of the world outside.