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North Korean music and its political role observed through popular songs : a critical evalution of four bands
Thesis (DMus)--University of Pretoria, 2020.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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University of Pretoria
2020
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| _version_ | 1867613694679056384 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Schoeman, Ben |
| author_browse | Schoeman, Ben |
| author_facet | Schoeman, Ben |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | © 2020 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
| description | Thesis (DMus)--University of Pretoria, 2020. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/76823 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:40:13.301Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publishDateRange | 2020 |
| publishDateSort | 2020 |
| publisher | University of Pretoria |
| publisherStr | University of Pretoria |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/76823 North Korean music and its political role observed through popular songs : a critical evalution of four bands Schoeman, Ben u11334470@tuks.co.za Cho, Kisoo UCTD Juche philosophy Music and politics North Korea North Korean music Bochonbo electronic music band (Pochonbo electronic ensemble) Music theses SDG-04 SDG-04: Quality education Music theses SDG-09 SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructure Music theses SDG-10 SDG-10: Reduced inequalities Music theses SDG-16 SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions Thesis (DMus)--University of Pretoria, 2020. North Korea, throughout its history, has had four representative pop music bands that frequently appear on broadcast media to propagate Juche philosophy and represent the political stance of the government: the Bochonbo electronic band, the Wangjaesan light music band, the Moranbong band, and the Chongbong band. The first two were formed during the Il-Sung-Kim regime and gained popularity during the Jung-Il-Kim regime; and the latter two are representative of the Jung-Eun-Kim regime. These bands always appeared at special occasions of North Korea and are used as mouthpieces for the government and the supreme leaders. This study explores the characteristics of North Korean pop music in conjunction with political implications by examining performances of these representative four bands. The aims are to interrogate how pop music in that country has been presented under governmental control, to ascertain what perception the North Korean governors have about pop music, and to delineate specific features in the music that can be identified as political. Certain aspects of the current Jung-Eun-Kim regime and its pop music are appearing for the first time in an academic context and existing research on the earlier regimes of Il-Sung Kim and Jung-Il Kim are posited in relation to this. The genesis of the Wangjaesan light music band and the Bochonbo electronic music band is closely connected to Jung-Il Kim’s directive that North Korean music had to be modernised. The Wangjaesan band concentrated more on traditional music, while the Bochonbo band did on modern trends and life songs. Their performances provide evidence of an un-detachable relationship with Jung-Il Kim’s politics and his perspective on music, “artistry without ideology is worthless”. The Moranbong band and the Chongbong band were formed by Jung Eun Kim himself and they can be regarded as symbolic musical groups of his regime. Demonstrating the earlier Juche ideas of the previous regimes by performing older songs from that era, the bands also illustrate new ideologies of the current regime. It would seem that none of their music was created purely for the artistic and cultural demand of the public. The political use of the bands has been totally intentional since their formation. ae2025 Music DMus Unrestricted SDG-04: Quality education SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructure SDG-10: Reduced inequalities SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions 2020-11-04T15:09:59Z 2020-11-04T15:09:59Z 20/04/15 2020 Thesis Cho, K 2020, North Korean music and its political role observed through popular songs : a critical evalution of four bands, DMus Thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/76823> A2020 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/76823 en © 2020 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria |
| spellingShingle | UCTD Juche philosophy Music and politics North Korea North Korean music Bochonbo electronic music band (Pochonbo electronic ensemble) Music theses SDG-04 SDG-04: Quality education Music theses SDG-09 SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructure Music theses SDG-10 SDG-10: Reduced inequalities Music theses SDG-16 SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions North Korean music and its political role observed through popular songs : a critical evalution of four bands |
| title | North Korean music and its political role observed through popular songs : a critical evalution of four bands |
| title_full | North Korean music and its political role observed through popular songs : a critical evalution of four bands |
| title_fullStr | North Korean music and its political role observed through popular songs : a critical evalution of four bands |
| title_full_unstemmed | North Korean music and its political role observed through popular songs : a critical evalution of four bands |
| title_short | North Korean music and its political role observed through popular songs : a critical evalution of four bands |
| title_sort | north korean music and its political role observed through popular songs a critical evalution of four bands |
| topic | UCTD Juche philosophy Music and politics North Korea North Korean music Bochonbo electronic music band (Pochonbo electronic ensemble) Music theses SDG-04 SDG-04: Quality education Music theses SDG-09 SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructure Music theses SDG-10 SDG-10: Reduced inequalities Music theses SDG-16 SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/76823 |