?? ??. [P?y?ngyang Pangsong]. Radio Pyongyang.

Printed fabric pennant promoting Radio Pyongyang, North Korea?s official broadcasting service. The image shows a stylised monument of two figures, possibly symbolising industry and broadcasting, with a laurel motif and radio waves under a red sky. Text in both Korean and English. Radio Pyongyang. ??? ??? translates directly as Pyongyang Broadcasting. Text in Korean and English. 23.5 height x 11cm at top edge. A scarce example of early North Korean visual propaganda. Radio Pyongyang was founded in October 1945, and inaugurated programming with a live broadcast of Kim Il Sung's victory speech when he returned to Pyongyang at the end of WWII. The image on this pennant features a statue of two figures (a worker and a peasant woman carrying a sheaf of rice) riding the mythical horse Chollima, symbolising speed, strength and the spirit of the North Korean people. The Chollima movement, which began in 1956, encouraged citizens to achieve extraordinary production and labour targets, indicated by the sheaf of wheat symbolic of agricultural abundance. Radio Pyongyang helped to disseminaate the ideals of the Chollima movement and this pennant probably dates from after the Chollima Monument was unveiled in 1961. Provenance: Bought in China by a western collector in the late 20th century.…