History of Music in North Korea

Regarding of the division of Korea in the year 1945, Korea was separated into the North and the Republic of Korea or the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or South Korea. A rebel song-writing culture was channeled into support for the state, eventually became a pattern of patriotic song that is known as taejung in the 1980s mixing the classical and Korean traditional musical types.

source of picture: www.theatlantic.com

Almost the North Korean pop songs are usually performed by a young female singer with an electric group, percussionist and follow up singers and dancers. Some of the North Korean pop songs like Hwiparam (whistle) have become renowned in the South Korean. They are mainly influenced by the Korean pop music and some songs titles include Don’t Ask My Name, We Shall Hold Bayonets More Magic, Our Life Is Precisely a Song, The Dear General Uses Distance –Shrinking Magic (Chukjibeop) and The Joy of Bumper Harvest Overflows Amidst the Song of Mechanization. Also songs like Reunification Rainbow and we are one; sing of hope for Korean reunification. In the year 2012 the North Korea’s first girl ensemble, the Moranbong Band make their world first public appearance. There are a group of five North Korean women who were hand-selected by Kim Jong Un.

DJ Andy Kershaw from BBC radio noted, on a visit to the North Korea and the only recording that is available were the pop singer like Jon Hye-yong, Ri Pun-hui, Jo Kum-hwa and Kim Kwang-suk and the groups of Wangjaesan light music band, the Mansudae Art Troupe and the Pochonbo electronic bands, who play in a pattern of Kershaw which refers to as light instrumental with well-known vocal. There is also State Symphony Orchestra, the Sea of Blood Opera Company, an orchestra, two choruses and a group dedicated to Isang Yun’s compositions, all in Pyongyang, the Pyongyang film studio which also produced many instrumental songs for its films, and many programs on Korean central TV which has music and also make performances on the central radio and television orchestra.

The music of the North Korean is like any general Korean music, includes types of both folk and classical, courtly music, including genres such as sanjo nongak and pansori. Pansonri which is a long vocal and percussive music that is played by one singer and one drummer, the lyrics tell one of the five diverse stories, but distinctive by each performer, often with the updated jokes and audience participation. Nongak is a typical form of percussion music; it is typically played by twenty to thirty artists. Sanjo is completely instrumental that shifts rhythms and melodic modes during the song. The instruments used include the change drum set against a melodic instrument, such as the gayageum or ajaeng.

The music of the North Korean follows the principles of Juche (self-reliance) ideology. The characteristic marchlike, upbeat music of North Korea is carefully composed, well individually performed, and its lyrics and imagery have a clear socialist content. Some of the religious or new traditional music may still exist in North Korea, but there is no reliable source west.

The main common music genre is the patriotic song which is known as taejung kayo, which initiated in the 1980s. The songs are generally sung by female artists with accompanying band or choirs that followed the large group (either western pattern or a component of western and traditional) or show band. The composition and performance of all the music in North Korea is led by the state, and all the lyrics are optimistic. Many of the music is composed for movie, and the works of the Korean composer Isang Yun from 1917 to 1995, who spent much of his time in Germany and also popular in North Korea.

The North Korea traditional instruments have been improved in order to allow them to contest with the western instruments. Many of the older musical types remain and it is used in both traditional performances that have been agreed to the ideas and the way of life of the present North Korean communist state and to follow the present songs of praise to Kim II Sung, and his son who is the successor.

The present Ongnyugeum zithers and the Sohaegeum four cords fiddle are North Korean current versions of traditional Korean musical instruments which is both used in the present musical types and traditional.