North Korean Cultural Heritage Interpretation: Authenticity and Oral Testimonies in Crash Landing on You

This thesis situates itself in the larger discourse on authenticity and interpretation in architectural and heritage conservation by considering the role of oral testimonies as evidence used to valourize intangible heritage of a living and inaccessible culture through the medium of film. The investigation focuses on the representation of North Korean rural landscape and architecture in the drama Crash Landing on You, which was influenced by the testimonies of North Korean migrants. Although the drama is fictional, the oral testimonies used to create the setting and stories are authentic. Guided by the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention on authenticity, this thesis examines the presentation of contemporary North Korean built and intangible cultural heritage at multiple scales. The findings are used to consider the use of dramas as a platform through which the North Korean diaspora can share and communicate an otherwise inaccessible living heritage.