Thread by @BonicMichael

Who in the US knows that Asian people from Asian countries are as cool and sociable (if not more so) than Americans? Ponder this:

The US nuked the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. How have the Japanese people coped with this? Cultural catharsis.

2/“Godzilla is depicted as an enormous, destructive, prehistoric sea monster awakened and empowered by nuclear radiation. With the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Lucky Dragon 5 incident still fresh in the Japanese consciousness,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godzilla

3/"Godzilla was conceived as a metaphor for nuclear weapons.”

North Korea suffered the horrific bombing campaign by Air forces of the United Nations Command from 1950-1953 during the Korean War. “The U.S. dropped a total of 635,000 tons of bombs, including 32,557 tons of napalm,

4/"on Korea.”
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_o…
How have the North Korean people coped with this? By cherishing the “treasured sword’’ of nuclear deterrence achieved under Kim Jong Un that now protects the DPRK from the US attacking it, and through gradual Western cultural assimilation.

5/Militarily a shrimp among whales, politically the black sheep of the nuclear family, ideologically misunderstood, ostracized by Western hegemonic powers-that-be for daring to use nuclear deterrence against a US that has made nuclear threats against it and forced to endure the

6/stigma of ‘Hermit Kingdom’, how does DPRK find socialist anchorage in a cold world that is openly hostile to it? Thru quietly acquiring understanding of different cultures in its K-U education.
What are the Benefits of Understanding Different Cultures?
leselfes.com/understanding-…

7/The spearhead of DPRK's Western cultural assimilation under Kim Jong Un is Moranbong Band, a cutting edge all-women fusion band that blends the old (tradition) w/ the new thru songs, Western musical instrumentation and modern Western women's fashionwear.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moranbong…

8/Moranbong Band: DPRK’s Musical Tour De Force of Proactive Western Cultural Assimilation

Each member of Moranbong Band is also a member of the Korean People’s Army and was hand-picked by Kim Jong Un for musical talent. Kim Jong Un’s wife Ri Sol Ju, introduced as “Respected

9/First Lady of the DPRK”, attended Moranbong Band’s debut performance.

"Concerts
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,

10/"the "Theme from Rocky" 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";

11/"and "Dallas": "a country 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

12/"celebrating Western popular 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…”

Moranbong Band full concert - New Year's celebration 2013

13/Let's watch Moranbong Band perform👆. Tune in at 8:50 as they rock out. Keyboardists Kim Jong-mi and Ri Hui-kyong jam on Roland synthesizers, Kang Ryong-hui rips on her red electric guitar, Han Sun-jong does a drum solo and bassist Jon Hye-ryon slaps her bass big time.

14/Lets take down the wall of North Korean misperception built by Western propaganda. Moranbong Band has mastered international and American classics, from classical music to Western rock styles. Thru music and the performing arts the DPRK is assimilating Western, particularly

15/American, culture and in doing so is inoculating its citizens, old to young, and readying them for a North Korean socialist Cinderella Story that heaven is moving earth to hasten once the long-awaited PEACE, promised by the Armistice, is delivered to all the Korean people.

16/If anyone doesn't think North Korea appreciates American classics, just listen to Frank Sinatra's My Way performed with passion, and an unmistaken identification to its lyrics.

Moranbong Band - My Way

17/If seeing is believing:

Rocky Theme performed in North Korea - Moranbong Band

Can you believe your eyes?! Sly Stallone is on the Jumbotron as Moranbong Band rocks out playing Rocky's Theme as Kang Ryong-hui in a long white gown shreds!!! 🤩🤩 🤩❤️❤️❤️

18/Yes, there is so much more about the DPRK that Westerners, including South Koreans, don't yet understand. While it has moved onto its "new road" building stronger ties w/ Beijing and fully resolved to never fully denuclearize, DPRK is looking forward with brave new hope, while

19/the US, grappling with political turmoil surrounding the current election, has yet to shake its antiquated hostile demands of CVID or FFVD. As DC's North Korea policy remains stuck in the past, DPRK is going full steam ahead into the future w/ socialist and patriotic pride.

20/To come full circle: Just as Godzilla helped the Japanese people cope, psychologically, w/ the aftermath of WW2, so is the osmosis of Western cultural assimilation thru music and the performing arts giving the socialist nuclear state anchorage in a cold and hostile world it

21/understands far better than its innumerable critics realize. Only Moranbong Band can rock a song called "Nuclear War", b/c the decades-long nuclear threats of the US have become blasé.

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

22/DPRK has lived w/ US's decades-long diplomatic failure to sign a ☮️ agreement. Their national interest is forced to react to the fickle whims of US policy. No worries. They can cathartically rock out to “Nuclear War” musically, a healthy way to cope. @ 2:26 the guitarist rips.

@threadreaderapp compile