Thread by @BonicMichael

The Moranbong Band: North Korea's domestic cultural juggernaut

Moranbong Band
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moranbong…
“History: The need for a modern pop band in North Korea has been attributed to the regime's necessity to please important social strata: Pyongyang elites, military and technical

2/"professionals, women, and in particular, young people…

The band debuted on July 6, 2012. Their first performance featured Western popular culture imagery and music, including Disney characters Mickey and Minnie Mouse and Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, the "Theme from Rocky"

3/"and Frank Sinatra's "My Way". Other Western music included "Czardas", "Zigeunerweisen", "La Reine de Saba", "Menuet", "Penelope", and "Serenade de l’Étoile", as well as "The Duel", described as "a popular song"; '"Victory", introduced as "a rap song"; and "Dallas": "a country

4/"music selection." Twelve cartoon film scores were also presented in a piece called "The Collection of World Fairy Tale Songs".[15] Kim Jong-un's wife Ri Sol-ju, made her first public appearance in the audience. These two novel policies — openly celebrating Western popular

5/"culture and publicly acknowledging the leader's spouse, along with considerable coverage of the event in the West — is thought to have served Kim's agenda. The event allowed Kim to flaunt openness while not making any substantial promises about changes in policy.”

6/North Korea tells the world: “We choose to live OUR way. Thank you very much.”


Moranbong Band - My Way

7/I don't think there is any greater love for music than in the women who's musical skills got them into the Moranbong Band. Where career opportunities are limited, to play music for your

Moranbong Band - Medley of world famous songs 2013

[Oct 20, 2018]

8/country on the stage and bring down the house as patriotic citizens - it doesn't get better than that. Playing these👆world famous songs w/ such virtuosity is proof that DPRK isn't the country that most Westerners perceive it as, blinded as they are by these myths:

9/From MARCH 29, 2013:

It's Not a Hermit Kingdom, and 4 Other Myths About North Korea
Yes, we should be taking Kim Jong Un's recent threats seriously. But first, we have to lose the comic-book caricature of his country.
JOEL S. WIT AND JENNY TOWN
theatlantic.com/international/…

10/"A better understanding North Korea requires separating fact from fiction and setting aside these 5 prevailing myths:

North Korea's leaders are crazy
North Korea is a failed state
North Korea is a hermit kingdom
North Korea cheats on agreements
Beijing will solve this problem

11/"for us"

North Korea students love music, dance and art.

Pyongyang University of Music and Dance
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyongyang…
Departments
•National instrumental music
•Modern instrumental music
•Vocal music
•Dance and composition (practical and theory)

12/Wangjaesan Dance Troupe danced to Irene Cara's Flashdance What A Feeling in the 1980s, no doubt b/c the lyrics were inspiring:

약동하는 춤 - Dançarinas Norte Coreanas - Wangjaesan Troupe: FlashDance!

13/Kim Jong Il recognized the need for North Koreans, especially women, to express themselves through dance and music, and Western dance music hits were learned and danced to at the University level, leading to Wangjaesan Dance Troupe and Moranbong Band.

14/Moranbong Band - Without a break

15/DPRK has culturally assimilated the Western rock music genre and commandeered it to serve the national interest:

"Nuclear War": Official Soundtrack released by #NorthKorea, 2020 ✌️

[Aug 9, 2017]

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