Official Music in North Korea

Refer to John Street, “Music does not just provide a vehicle of political expression, it is that expression.” Taliban refuses to accept its domestic people listen to music, it is a terrorism related to silence. Plato refers that he evaluates music as a moral role to shape people’ s mind. Now, it is a method for government’s propaganda. Street conveys his point very clearly and usefully that this book is about the relationship between music and politics because this idea connect human rights and it is the “heart of this book.” Furthermore, he thinks that political beyond music represents all our lives’ choices we made and these choices infect us. As he said, this is not a new idea but one easily would be neglected. In Music and Politics, his interesting ideas about how people receive music genres and evaluate its political thoughts. However, this political idea is not formulas can easily analysis but each of its aspects has different perspective and it needs audience to understand differently. There is another opinion he noticed that music history originated from the fear and the object of repression refer to Plato’s early statement. At the beginning of the music history, it has its strict restriction and it is not as widespread as now, some scholars treated very seriously such as Plato, because he thinks it is a tool to shape people’s idea and its moral values. Now, improved and updated by other scholars, it is an update idea that has different meanings and values. Music manipulates and dominates the receiver as a powerful tool.

 

Gulag Camps in North Korea:

In North Korea, people have been sent to gulag because the violet the regulation in North Korea. The Gulag camp, as they refer as:Re educational Camp, to let those “prisoners ” to suffer the physical and mental torment to force them obey the inhuman regulations in North Korean.

 

 

 

 

DPRK Political environment:

In Troubled Transition, there are two forms of censorship, regulative and constitutive. Regulative means “explicit and deliberate attempts to pretend the public session or dissemination of media connection; constitutive it is the name of the civilizing process, censorship is a fact of social life.” The music has the power to disruptive the social and political order. There is a classic example of how music manipulates its people and uses the censorship to achieve its goals. North Korean is a country is a one of few countries that still build the heir kingdom over the public. Stalinism, its Economy, modeled after Stalin’s Soviet Union-controlled centralized, collectively, crumble in the 1970s and 1980s and collapsed heavily with fall of communism in the Soviet Union the forms in China. (P5-10)Because of its worship to nuclear power, the Kim’s family would sacrifice its people starve to death, even worst, this brutal regime will punish people because the free marketing and trades. Especially, as the author mentioned, “Pyongyang is active place seeking to control,” Since 1950s, North Korea has examined individuals’ backgrounds to determine political loyalty. It dived its people into three categories: core group has 25% of its total population, and wavering group: 50%, half of its people belongs to its group, also as known as suspect people, and then the worst level people have mostly will be sent to the labor campaign, they are not reliable. This is a nation that god does not bless, refer to author. Because military first (sung-gun) policy force its people devote themselves into pursuing nuclear weapon, defend their countries from Western power and its mediums’ influences. National propaganda and its brutality render people to worship and devote themselves to its corruption and hopeless country. In the early stage, it has its national immigration but with a serious corruption just as other countries. Although, they have to buy the gifts or give money to 官僚. But it has complex and detailed regulation for people to travel or go out side of this country. It even has the restriction to its free market and free will to choose their jobs. Those common human rights comprised to the military-first policy. The government even made the term to describe theses doctrines, called Organized Life (OL) In other words, “no one in North Korea reaches a level of privilege where thoughts and opinion can be publically discussed without impunity.” “Making money in North Korea is often linked with illegal behaviors of association and every 1st, 11th and 21st the market would open.” (P4) For example, watching of foreign videos, the reading of foreign books also will receive strict punishment. Although the North Korea already signed up and agree with the Human Rights Committee in 1994 but it still violated it and broke the rules. The people escape from North Korea just because they are too hungry to live in this country. Stalinism, its Economy, modeled after Stalin’s Soviet Union-controlled centralized, collectively, crumble in the 1970s and 1980s and collapsed heavily with fall of communism in the Soviet Union the forms in China. Though it reaches a Western audience somewhat let his testimony represents the first extended account of a young adult of a young adult’s life in contemporary North Korea. This is the first detailed testimony about a North Korea gulag to be published in the west.

 

This is the third generation of Kim’s family, Kim jong-un official new theme song:

Song: “Onward Toward the Final Victory”
노래 <최후의 승리를 향하여 앞으로>
Composer: Yoon Du Geun, Lyrics: Kim Moon Hyuk
작사 윤두근, 작곡 김문혁

By exploding the mental strength of the united heart of our million citizens
일심의 천만군민 정신력 폭발시켜
Joseon resounds the marching drums of the powerful, prosperous nation
조선은 강성국가 진군북 울려간다
Let’s go, Great Baekdu-mountain nation, by the calling of the political party
나가자 백두산대국아 당중앙 부름따라
Onward, onward to the final victory
최후의 승리를 향하여 앞으로 앞으로

As our undefeated army boasts winning a hundred battles
불패의 군력으로 백승을 떨쳐가며
Joseon is bolstered as the gun barrel of the powerful, prosperous nation
조선은 강성국가 총대로 떠받든다
Let’s go, Great Baekdu-mountain nation, Songun’s height of ensign
나가자 백두산대국아 선군의 기치높이
Onward, onward to the final victory
최후의 승리를 향하여 앞으로 앞으로

By raising the beacon of the new industrial revolution of the new century
새 세기 산업혁명 봉화를 추켜들고
Joseon is spreading the word of the rise of the powerful, prosperous nation
조선은 강성국가 기상을 떨쳐간다
Let’s go, Great Baekdu-mountain nation, embrace the blessing of the sun energy
나가자 백두산대국아 태양기 축복안고
Onward, onward to the final victory
최후의 승리를 향하여 앞으로 앞으로

Citation:

Hun, Choe. Trouble Transition: North Korea’s Politics, Economy, and External Relations. Vol.1. 1-29