Chŏn Chaekyŏng’s ‘Butterfly’: A Literary Window Into Ideas Of Criminal Justice And Rehabilitation In 1950s DPRK

Butterfly is a short story written by Chŏn Chaekyŏng and published in 1956 in the DPRK’s literary journal Chosŏn Munhak. Written for a domestic audience, the story glorifies the passion and motivation of agricultural workers whose individual plots of land have recently been merged into one of the country’s new Agricultural Cooperatives, and praises the guiding role of the Party. But all is far from ideal in the Cooperative, not least because of an “impure element” called Ko Yŏngsu who is selfish, lazy, criminally deceitful, and the story’s protagonist.

Butterfly touches on several interesting areas. It is quite candid about rural poverty, describing agricultural workers as having just 600 grammes of rice a day, little or no meat in their diet, and where some evidently still question the very system of collectivisation. It also offers a perspective on gender relations: women participate fully and with confidence in public meetings, yet all managerial positions appear to be held by men. The proper attitude of Party officials toward workers is woven throughout the text, emphasising that they should use “humble and well-reasoned logic” to win over the views of the workers, and to lead by example. And surprising emphasis is placed on the role of competition between agricultural workers and teams in improving mutual motivation and production.

But the focus of this short essay is Butterfly’s exploration through protagonist Yŏngsu of ideas about rehabilitation and personhood. How should the Cooperative react to those who repeatedly offend, and show no inclination to change? This is the narrow focus of the story, and its handling of the question – and subsequent critical reception of the story – reveals insights into official narratives of criminal justice and rehabilitation in 1950s DPRK. More broadly, the story underlines the ambition of the DPRK authorities in transforming social and individual consciousness away from the selfishness of days gone past, and towards a cooperative attitude befitting socialism.