Psycho Punk
Active Member
Any suggestions for an alternative song?
North Korea releases signature song for leader Kim Jong-un
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2012/0707/1224319602313.html
TANIA BRANIGAN
Vid: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2012/jul/06/north-korea-kim-jong-un-song-video?newsfeed=true
Sat, Jul 07, 2012
IN THE past decade, the bubblegum pop and kitsch dance routines of South Korea’s K-pop bands have taken the charts by storm in Asia and Latin America. But north across the Korean border, broadcasters are promoting a track less likely to become an international success: a new signature song for youthful leader Kim Jong-un.
The anthem, titled Onwards Toward the Final Victory, is part of a propaganda drive to build up the image of the “great successor”. Radio and television are airing it several times a day and the score has been printed in the official newspaper Rodong Sinmun.
“The song hardens the will of the Korean army and people to devote their all to the prosperity of the country with high national pride,” said the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Unlike the songs associated with his father and grandfather, it does not specifically mention Kim. It takes its title from the closing words of his address marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of his grandfather, the country’s founder, Kim II-sung.
“It’s like remixing his speech. It’s not really a paean to him,” said John Delury, an expert on North Korea at Yonsei University in Seoul.
Hong Kwang Sun, vice-minister of culture, told KCNA: “The song is just a powerful trumpet call of the revolution encouraging the army and people in the drive to build a thriving nation as well as a stirring drumbeat of victory.”
Prof Keith Howard of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies said music, song and dance performances were important at events such as the mass games and this spring’s celebrations of Kim II-sung’s centenary. The spectacles are so important that tap-dancing shoes have been among the clandestine cargos intercepted en route to North Korea. UN sanctions ban the export of luxury goods to the state.
North Korea releases signature song for leader Kim Jong-un
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2012/0707/1224319602313.html
TANIA BRANIGAN
Vid: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2012/jul/06/north-korea-kim-jong-un-song-video?newsfeed=true
Sat, Jul 07, 2012
IN THE past decade, the bubblegum pop and kitsch dance routines of South Korea’s K-pop bands have taken the charts by storm in Asia and Latin America. But north across the Korean border, broadcasters are promoting a track less likely to become an international success: a new signature song for youthful leader Kim Jong-un.
The anthem, titled Onwards Toward the Final Victory, is part of a propaganda drive to build up the image of the “great successor”. Radio and television are airing it several times a day and the score has been printed in the official newspaper Rodong Sinmun.
“The song hardens the will of the Korean army and people to devote their all to the prosperity of the country with high national pride,” said the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Unlike the songs associated with his father and grandfather, it does not specifically mention Kim. It takes its title from the closing words of his address marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of his grandfather, the country’s founder, Kim II-sung.
“It’s like remixing his speech. It’s not really a paean to him,” said John Delury, an expert on North Korea at Yonsei University in Seoul.
Hong Kwang Sun, vice-minister of culture, told KCNA: “The song is just a powerful trumpet call of the revolution encouraging the army and people in the drive to build a thriving nation as well as a stirring drumbeat of victory.”
Prof Keith Howard of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies said music, song and dance performances were important at events such as the mass games and this spring’s celebrations of Kim II-sung’s centenary. The spectacles are so important that tap-dancing shoes have been among the clandestine cargos intercepted en route to North Korea. UN sanctions ban the export of luxury goods to the state.
