Moranbong band

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The Moranbong Band ( Korean 모란봉 악단 ) is a North Korean girl band . The group is very popular in North Korea. It had its first appearance in July 2012. The name "Moranbong" means " Peony Hill " and refers to an elevation in Moranbong Park , a popular recreational area in the capital Pyongyang . The name was given to her by Kim Jong-un .

founding

The idea for this women's band came from Kim Jong-un, who founded it in the summer of 2012 in connection with the beginning of a new century in the Juch'e era . It is said that he influenced all musical elements, the themes and the composition of the performance, the arrangement , instrumentation , playing style and representation in order to renew existing theories. Kim explained that the aim is to bring traditional music and international pop music together in a modern form in a balanced way, in order to meet the tastes, wishes and feelings of the population and to take account of the zeitgeist. The band is also an answer to the South Korean pop music popular in the neighboring country . Kim allegedly selected the female members herself and promoted some of them to highly decorated women soldiers. The number of band members fluctuates and the composition has changed throughout their history. The orchestra leader is Seon-u Hyang-hui, who also plays the first violin and has already made a name for herself as a musician and has played in the Samjiyeon Band. The band members carry ranks from subordinate to captain. The administrative management of the band and its employees has a six-person board of directors led by Hyon Song-wol . The photographs show the director and three other deputies in the uniform of a brigadier , the highest rank of officer below the general level in the North Korean People's Army.

Appearances

Kim Jong-un is a huge fan of the group and frequently attends their performances, which are held in front of a predominantly male audience of high-ranking party members and foreign diplomats.

The women appear in different clothes, in uniforms, but also in tight, short skirts or dresses, or off-the-shoulder long dresses and high-heeled shoes. The clothing is often decorated with glitter, alternatively it is decorated with military elements, e.g. B. Badges of rank, provided. For the North Korean sense of style, appearing in some concerts is provocative and sexy. The clothing style is officially modeled on the fashion of the Goguryeo kingdom, portrayed as typically Korean and not Western. In addition to singing, the band members play instruments such as keyboard, electric violin and electric guitar . The repertoire ranges from patriotic folk and revolutionary songs to European classical music to Western pop music.

Many songs have political or military references. For example, there are the titles “Let us support our Supreme Commander with weapons” or “Our beloved leader”. The performances are embedded in a choreography that is outdated for Western tastes. The performances take place, among other things, as festive and congratulatory concerts and as on-site performances. The band also performed with the State Merited Chorus. In February 2016, the group performed in connection with a celebration of the launch of a long-range missile . After the 7th Congress of the Labor Party of Korea concluded , the group performed with the State Merited Chorus and the Chongbong Band on May 12, 2016.

Artistic orientation

The artistic direction has been shown as changing since the first documented appearance in July 2012. The New Year's Concert 2013 ends a first early period of "innocence", in which the atmosphere was relaxed, the group acted freely on the stage and the phase of demotions and exchanges of band members had not yet started. At a concert in April 2015 it is shown that Moranbong is now an ensemble of “bureaucratic art directors”, the singers are now the most important element, the lyrics are now emphasized over the music; the music presented is still good.

effect

The band was very popular among the North Korean population from the beginning. The short hairstyles of the band members are imitated by many young women. There are reports of people dancing in the street to the group's music. When the group appears on television, it happens that shops close prematurely and the streets are deserted.

The band changes the image of women in North Korea, which no longer only portrays the “revolutionary mother”, but also introduces a woman who is superficially freed from these restrictions. The group also helps to add women as officially sanctioned role models to the image of North Korea's male-dominated leadership.

In December 2015, Kim Jong-un sent the band to China for a concert tour . The political goal was to improve the recently strained relationship between China and North Korea. At the same time it was the girls band's first international appearance. A few hours before their first performance, however, the band left the hotel in Beijing and, to everyone's surprise, flew back to Pyongyang. There was fierce speculation about the reasons. China's news agency reported that all appearances had been canceled due to "communication problems at the work level". According to information that has not been officially confirmed, there is said to have been a dispute over song texts in which the USA is described as an "ambitious wolf" and the Korean War from 1950 to 1953 is glorified. In view of the efforts of the Chinese government to mediate between North Korea and the United States, the Chinese censorship did not consider the texts to be conducive. The performance was intended as a thank you to North Korea for inviting and participating Liu Yunshan in a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the Labor Party of Korea . The rejection is seen as a setback in relations between the two countries.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Patrick Boehler: Moranbong style: North Korea's first girl band may be a sign of change . In: South China Morning Post . July 4, 2013. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  2. ↑ a b c "Naenara" - The Moranbong band popular with Koreans. Website naenara.com.kp. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  3. ↑ a b c d Darcie Draudt, Jimin Lee: Packaged and Controlled by the Masculine State: Moranbong Band and Gender in New Chosun-Style Performance. In: Sino NK. May 3, 2013, accessed on January 25, 2016 (English): "Kim Jong-un organized the Moranbong Band as a calling of the new century," prompted by a grandiose plan to bring about a dramatic turn in the field of literature and arts this year in which a new century of Juche Korea begins. ""
  4. ↑ Todd Rigney: Kim Jong Un has his own all-girl pop band . In: Inquister . May 31, 2013. Accessed December 15, 2015.
  5. ↑ Tim Stanley: Meet North Korea's new girl band: five girls who just wanna have state-sanctioned fun. In: The Daily Telegraph. May 29, 2013, accessed on January 25, 2016 (English): “All of the musicians and singers of the band are promising, [Kim] noted, praising Seon-u Hyang-hui, leader of the band, for her splendid directing . He underscored the need to steadily develop the traditional music and popular music in a balanced manner to suit the thoughts and feelings of Koreans and their aesthetic taste while meeting the need of the times and the people's desire. "
  6. ^ A b Eva Steinlein: Moranbong, a girl band with a propaganda mission . In: Zeit Online . December 11, 2015. Accessed December 15, 2015.
  7. ^ Youtube video, published by tonpomail, April 15, 2014 . Website youtube.com. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
  8. ^ Youtube video, published by tonpomail, May 1, 2015 . Website youtube.com. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
  9. ↑ Adam Cathcart: Songun Mini-Skirt: Ri Sol-ju, the Moranbong Band, and North Korean Fashion Norms. In: Sino NK. August 7, 2012, accessed January 25, 2015 .
  10. ↑ Beth Stebner: North Korea's five-part girl band, formed by Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, blast out hits like 'Let's Study!' and 'Our Dear Leader!' . In: Daily News . May 29, 2013. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  11. ↑ Martin Benninghoff : A girl band for Kim Jong-un , FAZ.net , August 21, 2019
  12. ↑ Marshal KIM JONG UN attended a joint concert by the Deserved State Choral Ensemble and the Moranbong Band | On-site instructions . Website vorortanleitungen.wordpress.com. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  13. ↑ 조선 로동당 창건 70 돐 경축 공훈 국가 합창단 과 모란봉 악단 의 합동 공연 - YouTube. Video of the concert . Website youtube.com. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  14. ^ KCTV (Kim Jong Un and his Wife Enjoy the Moranbong Band Performance) - YouTube . Website youtube.com. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  15. ↑ Moranbong Band & SMC & Chongbong Joint Performance - KCTV Live Stream . Website youtube.com. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  16. ↑ 2013.01.01 | Moranbong Band Discography 07/06/2012 - 11/12/2015 . Website morandisco.wordpress.com. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
  17. ↑ 2015-04-27 | Moranbong Band Discography 07/06/2012 - 11/12/2015 . Website morandisco.wordpress.com. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
  18. ^ Korhonen Pekka: Rock Gospels: Analyzing the Artistic Style of Moranbong Band . In: SINO NK . March 24, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  19. ↑ James Griffiths: Kim Jong Un is sending his personal girl band to Beijing . In: CNN . December 10, 2015. Accessed December 15, 2015.
  20. ↑ Andreas Landwehr: Why did North Korea's Spice Girls break off their tour? . In: stern . December 13, 2015. Accessed December 16, 2015.
  21. ↑ Benjamin Kang Lim / Ben Blanchard North Korean band's shows canceled over 'anti-American lyrics' in: The Guardian , December 18, 2015, accessed December 18, 2015