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Hidden Heroes offers a rare and intimate glimpse into the lives of ordinary North Koreans through a collection of short stories by renowned DPRK authors. Spanning from the 1980s to the present, these works explore the theme of the “hidden hero,” a popular moniker in the DPRK to describe the average citizen who navigates the complexities of daily life with quiet dedication for their work and country.
The anthology is divided into three thematic sections—Identities, Communities, and Power—showcasing a diverse array of characters and settings. Readers will encounter factory managers juggling work and family responsibilities, neighbors bonding during friendly outings, university deans resisting corruption, and diasporic Koreans in Japan grappling with questions of belonging. Through these relatable human experiences, the stories challenge simplistic notions of North Korean society and reveal a more nuanced reality.
While elements of propaganda and state ideology are present, as is typical in all officially sanctioned DPRK literature, the focus in the text is rather on the personal struggles, relationships, and aspirations of the characters. By highlighting these universal themes, Hidden Heroes invites readers to look beyond geopolitical tensions and connect with the shared humanity of North Koreans. For anyone seeking to expand their understanding of this often-misunderstood country, this anthology provides an engaging and thought-provoking literary journey into the everyday lives of North Korean citizens.
“A groundbreaking anthology of recent North Korean fiction, Hidden Heroes eschews well- worn ideas of the country as a monolith and its literature as mere propaganda. Hidden Heroes offers a remarkable selection of short stories that feature women and men confronting the challenges – from struggles to maintain work–life balance to rural/urban tensions – that make up the complexity of everyday life. To read Hidden Heroes is to approach North Korean literature on its own terms.” —Theodore Hughes, Korea Foundation Professor of Korean Studies in the Humanities, Columbia University, USA
Translation Source; Introduction: (Re)presenting North Korean Fiction; IDENTITIES, The Key; A Day in the Life of a Female Manager; Face; COMMUNITIES, Neighbors; Hoping for Luck to Strike; Seventeen People’s Laughter; The Actor’s Last Class; POWER, Lifel; Spring Evening; The Life Expectancy Chart; Bibliography; Index