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영어

This article deals with the disappearance of hunting in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) to reconsider human-centered narratives of modern authoritarianism. I examine how the perception of hunting in North Korea changed through Pyongyang’s ineffective efforts to classify and exploit animals according to their perceived value in building socialism. In particular, I highlight local understandings of fauna and the gradual disappearance of conventional hunting from state media, a reflection of the disorganized attempts to regulate hunting and mobilize animals for material ends. Contrary to these ambitions, local populations compelled the regime into a tacit compromise, resulting in official silence on hunting.