And Finally Artist News

Kim Jong-un warns North Koreans about the “vicious cancer” of K-pop

By | Published on Monday 14 June 2021

BTS

It already saw off Donald Trump, now K-pop is threatening to cause the collapse of North Korea. Or so fears that nation’s leader Kim Jong-un, as South Korean pop music gains popularity in the country.

Kim has called South Korean entertainment smuggled into North Korea via China a “vicious cancer”, according to the New York Times. It is now, state media warns, influencing the “attire, hairstyles, speeches [and] behaviours” of young North Koreans and, if not stopped, could make the country “crumble like a damp wall”.

South Korean music has long made it into North Korea – hidden from authorities – originally on tapes and CDs and now on USB sticks. However, the proliferation of K-pop being smuggled into the country, along with South Korean TV shows, is increasingly causing concern for the government. So much so that, in December last year, it increased prison sentences for the possession of such material from five to fifteen years.

Those who actually smuggle South Korean entertainment into the country face even more severe punishment, including the death penalty. Meanwhile, anyone seen to “speak, write or sing in South Korean style” could end up in a labour camp for up to two years.

More recently, Kim has said that “a serious change” was taking place in the “ideological and mental state” of young Koreans and that he would act “mercilessly” in order to stop it.

“To Kim Jong-un, the cultural invasion from South Korea has gone beyond a tolerable level”, explains Jiro Ishimaru, Chief Editor of Japanese website Asia Press International. “If this is left unchecked, he fears that his people might start considering the South an alternative Korea to replace the North”.

He might be right. Back in 2019, the Washington Post reported that foreign entertainment was increasingly a factor in convincing North Koreans to flee the country.

In addition to the legal crackdown on the distribution and consumption of South Korean entertainment, there have also been efforts to compete head-on with K-pop, with North Korea launching its own pop acts.

Girl group the Moranbong Band debuted in 2012, with all members personally selected by Kim. Their first performance incorporated Western music and culture, with ‘Theme From Rocky’ and ‘My Way’ among the songs on the setlist, while dancers dressed as characters including Mickey Mouse, Winnie The Pooh and Snow White joined them on stage.



READ MORE ABOUT: