북한의 감정 통치 연구 : 조선인민군의 러시아-우크라이나 전쟁 파병 정당화를 중심으로

초록

This study examines how the North Korean authorities utilize emotions as a governing strategy, focusing on the process through which the deployment of the Korean People’s Army to Russia’s war in Ukraine was domestically justified. While North Korea is often perceived externally as an extremely repressive system in which emotional expression is largely suppressed, the regime has in practice actively mobilized emotions as a key element of governance, carefully attuned to popular psychology and affective responses. By analyzing a concrete case, this study seeks to deepen understanding of North Korea’s domestic policy implementation and legitimation strategies. Methodologically, the analysis draws on relevant reports published in Rodong Sinmun and broadcasts by Korean Central Television from April 2025, when North Korean authorities publicly acknowledged the deployment of their troops to the Russia-Ukraine war, through December 2025. Focusing on the discursive and affective dimensions of policy justification, the study identifies the types and functions of emotions mobilized by the regime. The findings show that theNorth Korean authorities console the people through appeals to empathy and invoke emotions through a range of domestic and external actors, while the supreme leader directly presents emotional trajectories to the people. In doing so, the regime reconstructs the troop deployment decision as the leader’s strategic determination—one that had to be carried out for national victory despite large-scale casualties. The findings also suggest that Kim Jong Un’s tears and apology should be interpreted as emotional devices that complement the concept of the revolutionary leader.

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