Observations on South Korea's Arts Group in Pyongyang

A short video clip less than two minutes has some of the highest political leadership of North Korea joining in the singing with the South Korean political representatives who accompanied the arts group to Pyongyang. They are singing Let's Meet Again, and Our Wish, which are theme songs of the unification movement. This is how the joint group performance, which included artists from both states, finished the show.

This video has this scene in it, which is something I thought I'd never see. The political representatives of South Korea and North Korea, powerful politicians not singer performers, are holding hands and singing along with the music! The scene occurs about the 1 minute mark. I couldn't believe my eyes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F5nGUi9nzc

The clip, in the link above, is a taken from MBN news, Channel 8.

I watched another broadcast clip from the South Korean Channel A (on youtube) evaluating the cultural exchange performances. The South Korean music content is not being released on North Korean television. The only audio being released is the Our Wish song which has the unification theme, and the following similar song "Let's Meet Again," with the same theme. The analysts say the North Korean leadership are afraid that the North Korean public would be "influenced" by South Korean performance audio content.

The analysts in South Korea believe that General Kim Yong Chol, the hardliner that went to the Olympic closing, is responsible for the (almost total) quarantine on the South Korean performances in North Korea. Kim's younger sister, she's in charge of the propaganda department, probably plays a role as well.

Several of the news videos of the audience for this performance show the audience moving with the music in the finale, in a manner uncharacteristic for North Koreans if we judge by the last such performance in Pyongyang in 2005. So when General Chol and the other heavies are holding hands with the South Korean political representatives, it is during the joint performance of the propaganda unification songs, if you will. Yet, it is still incredible to see these hardcore North Korean communists acting this way.

The domestic censorship of the South Korean music audio is consistent with the "criticism" in the North Korean Worker's Daily commentary yesterday about South Korean arts and culture being the product of capitalist decadence and so on, seducing the working class into slavery. So that audio content is being censored from the North Korean public other than those privileged enough to be selected to attend the event. I had read discussions after the N.Korean US summit was publicly disclosed as something that Trump would accept, that it would take time for North Korea to prepare itself domestically for this. This is reflected in this censorship scheme. South Korean press was barred from entry to the venue, and Chol apologized (which evidently is a rare thing) but I don't think that changed anything.

The world wide whirlwind of North and South Korean diplomatic activity hasn't worked out yet, and is still a work in progress. While various "experts" say the receptivity of the US president to talks unduly raises Kim Jong Un's prestige and "rewards" him, this is essentially incorrect. Meeting with the President and the extensive contacts with South Korea are essentially destabilizing, which is another reason to hold information close and communications under strict censorship in North Korea. If the US rebuffs North Korea, it's going to present an even more complex and hazardous situation.

Kim had requested an oldie South Korean love song on the program, "Belated Regrets." The South Korean artist didn't like having to do it, she said she disliked the song. Kim requested it because it was his father's favorite song. Allegedly Kim Jong Il used to sing it to himself. So Kim demonstrated "hyo," as the dutiful Confucian son. It's not for the domestic audience who don't get to hear it, but maybe to influence South Koreans. Kim apparently thanked the performer for doing it.

A Korean I spoke to recently said that many people in the south are not receptive to this unification message. I've heard that on Korean news as well, that the younger South Korean generation having great economic difficulties is not eager to absorb the costs of development of North Korea. In addition to this older conservative Koreans just can't cope with or accept this ideologically. The latter are the type of people who go to the flag demonstrations and support former conservative presidents Park and Lee. There is no question that unification has appeal to Moon supporters, and also businesses which want to have their limited enterprises in North Korea restored and those who look forward to developing North Korean mineral resources and markets.