The first evidence of Korean music is ancient, and it has been well-documented by surviving written materials since the 15th century and was brought to heights of excellence during the Yi kings of the Joseon Dynasty. Japan's invasion of Korea eliminated Korean music from 1905 to 1945. A brief post-war period rewakened folk and patriotic music. By 1951, Korea was split, into the Democratic People's Republic of Korea or North and the Republic of Korea or South Korea. Revolutionary song-writing traditions were channeled into support for the state, eventually becoming a style of patriotic song called taejung kayo in the 1980s.[1]
In North Korea, culture, including music, is tightly controlled by the government, most music in North Korea is propaganda of one form or another (usually praising leader Kim Jong-il, his late father Kim Il-sung and communism) broadcast constantly on the radio or playing over public loudspeakers. Listening to South Korean music or playing Rock and Roll "can be considered a crime".[2] Foreign music is lumped into one genre which the North Korean government calls "jazz" (note: this is a definition of the word peculiar to North Korea), and which is considered barbaric because "it has no melody".[2]
North Korean pop music is also normally a form of propaganda, usually performed by a young female singer in front of a large bank of electric organs. It is primarily influenced by Russian and Chinese pop music and songs have titles like "Our Life Is Precisely a Song", "We Shall Hold Bayonets More Firmly" and "The Joy of Bumper Harvest Overflows Amidst the Song of Mechanisation".[3]
North Korean propaganda songs are influenced by Soviet and Chinese propaganda, frequently using military bands and male choirs.
BBC radio DJ Andy Kershaw noted, on a visit to North Korea, that the only recordings available were by the pop singers Jon Hye-yong, Kim Kwang-suk, Jo Kum-hwa and Ri Pun-hui, and the groups Wangjaesan Light Music Band, the Mansudae Art Troupe and the Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble, who play in a style Kershaw refers to as "light instrumental with popular vocal".[3] There is also the State Symphony Orchestra, the Sea of Blood Opera Company, two choruses, an orchestra and an ensemble dedicated to Isang Yun's compositions, all in Pyongyang. The Pyongyang Film Studios also produces many instrumental songs for its films.
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Active Musical groups and ensembles
Military
- Song and Dance Ensemble of the Korean People's Army
- KPA State Merited Chorus and Ensemble
Civilian
- Unhansu National Orchestra
- State Symphony Orchestra of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
- Isang Yun Symphony Orchestra
Korean music
- Main article: Korean music
Korean music includes kinds of both folk and classical, courtly music, including genres like sanjo, pansori and nongak. Pansori is long vocal and percussive music played by one singer and one drummer. The lyrics tell one of five different stories, but is individualized by each performer, often with updated jokes and audience participation. Nongak is a rural form of percussion music, typically played by twenty to thirty performers. Sanjo is entirely instrumental that shifts rhythms and melodic modes during the song. Instruments include the changgo drum set against a melodic instrument, such as the gayageum or ajaeng.[3]
The three kinds of Korean court music are aak, an imported form of Chinese ritual music, hyangak, a pure Korean, and tangak, a combination of Chinese and Korean influences.[3]
External links
- The Pyongyang Metro Music (with mp3 downloads)
- N. Korean flees for love of jazz piano
- Kim Jong-il Janggunui Norae - example of North Korean Music, with lyrics (in Korean) and mp3 recordings: (External; licensed for non-commercial use.)
References
- ^ "Pop music of Asia". IIAS Newsletter Online. http://www.iias.nl/iiasn/26/theme/26T1.html. Retrieved September 27, 2005.
- ^ a b "Reuters N.Korean flees for love of jazz piano". http://www.redorbit.com/news/entertainment/441465/nkorean_risks_life_flees_for_love_of_jazz_piano/ Reuters. Retrieved October 1, 2008.
- ^ a b c d Provine, Rob, Hwang, Okon and Kershaw, Andy. "Our Life Is Precisely a Song". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 2: Latin & North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific, pp 160-169. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
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