North Korea has no official national animal, though it’s popularly thought of as the mythical winged horse known as the Chollima which originates from the Chinese classics. It is an important symbol and was used to encourage the swift reconstruction of the country following the Korean War.
So, though North Korea officially has no national animal, it is hard to overstate the importance that the Chollima has had in the country’s past.
Of course, given the nature of North Korea, it is difficult to say precisely what the animal might mean to the average person, but plainly it is an important national symbol.
Let’s find out more.
What is the national animal of North Korea?
Officially, North Korea has no national animal.
Without a doubt, though, the single most important natural symbol of North Korea is the Chollima.
This is a mythical, winged horse that has held significance to many disparate cultures in this part of the world in a great variety of different contexts.
It is commonly portrayed in East Asian mythology and is, according to myth, said to be too fast and elegant to be mounted by any man.
Its name derives from the Chinese li, also known as the Chinese mile, which is a measurement that has changed over time but which today represents about half a kilometer.
The name Chollima means that the horse can travel one thousand li in a single day.
The Chollima has held significance in China, Vietnam, Japan, North Korea, and many other countries in Asia.
It has naturally gone by many different names, then, and held different significance to different cultures, and is an obvious parallel to the Western myth of Pegasus of Greek mythology.
The Chollima is among the most important mythological beasts in this part of Asia and has been for more than 2000 years.
Since as long ago as the 3rd Century BC, the Chollima has been used as a metaphor for exceptionally talented people.
The Chollima’s natural strength, speed, grace and elegance are impossible to overstate or even truly comprehend for a person, and so they have become one of the most recognizable mythological symbols in this part of the world.
They are typically depicted as a large steed with feathery wings flying through the air on a plume of smoke, though again they have been depicted a great variety of ways by different cultures.
Let’s look at why they are the national animal of North Korea.
Why is the Chollima the national animal of North Korea?
The Chollima is, again, not officially the national animal of North Korea, but it is among the country’s most important animal symbols.
It is particularly a symbol of labor movements in this part of the world.
Originating in the Soviet Union, Stakhanovite movements were mass cultural movements of works that encourage the emulation of socialism and rationalization of the workplace process.
In North Korea, their Stakhanovite movement was called the Chollima Movement and was state-sponsored as a way to encourage rapid economic development.
Following the Korean War which had divided the country in the 1950s, the newly established nation of North Korea was in need of rapid growth and rebuilding.
The Chollima, tireless in its movements and unmatched in its speed, was the perfect symbol of this movement and came to be a very effective propaganda tool, at least for a short while.
Today, the Chollima remains the nickname of the national football team in North Korea.
Importantly, then, there is certainly a level on which the Chollima is simply an image of propaganda rather than an important symbol to all the people of the nation.
Given how hard it is to ask about their views, it’s hard to judge their everyday significance to the people of North Korea.
Where does the Chollima come from?
The Chollima originates in Chinese mythology, and particularly in what are commonly called the Chinese classics.
These are canonical Chinese texts which originated before the imperial unification of the Qin dynasty in 221 BC.
These texts mention a mythological horse-tamer known as bole, who is often associated with the fabled horse.
The horse in general had been considered an animal capable of incredible feats of strength and endurance, and thus later on it would remain an important symbol of worker ethic and the unity of the workers in this part of the world.
Is the Chollima a real animal?
The Chollima is not a real animal, though of course, its association even symbolically with actual horses is very important.
As mentioned, the horse itself was also seen as an animal capable of incredible feats of endurance, and thus the Chollima came to be seen also as the ultimate embodiment of the most talented people.
It is and has been a metaphor in this way for many centuries, and fits into many Chinese and broader Asian proverbs.
So, though it is a mythical animal, it is not quite mythical in the same sense, say, as Pegasus. It is generally more important as a metaphor.
It is not an uncommon choice to make a mythical animal your national animal, then, although again no official national animal has been chosen by North Korea.
The Chollima, though, is perhaps the single most important animal symbol in the country and has been since North Korea was established.
Though we cannot know what the people of North Korea necessarily feel about the relevance of this symbol, it plainly is important to some extent.