K-pop stars yesterday led a group of South Korean musicians departing for Pyongyang to take part in the latest set of cross-border cultural performances ahead of next month’s rare inter-Korean summit.
The 120-member group including top girl group Red Velvet flew from Seoul’s Gimpo International Airport aboard a chartered civilian flight to Pyongyang via the rarely used direct air route between the two Koreas, as a rapprochement on the peninsula gathers pace.
“This performance in Pyongyang will add momentum to inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation that resumed with the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics” in the South, said South Korean Minister of Culture Do Jong-hwan, who led the group.
Photo: AP
Under the theme title “Spring is Coming,” South Korean musicians are to perform a concert in Pyongyang today before a joint show with North Korean artists at the capital’s 12,000-seat Ryugyong Jong Ju Yong Gymnasium on Tuesday.
While in Pyongyang, Do said he would meet with North Korean officials to discuss further cultural and sports exchanges between the two Koreas that have restarted after a decade-long hiatus.
The two rivals on Friday agreed to hold an inter-Korean summit — the third ever of its kind following 2000 and 2007 meetings — at the Panmunjom truce village on the heavily fortified border on April 27.
Photo: EPA
Following the meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, landmark talks are planned between Kim and US President Donald Trump, which could come by the end of May.
The rapid rapprochement was kicked off by last month’s Olympics in the South and comes after a year of heightened tensions over the North’s nuclear and missile programs, which saw Kim and Trump engage in a fiery war of words.
Together with athletes and cheerleaders, the North sent musicians led by Hyon Song-wol — founder of the country’s popular Moranbong band — to the South to celebrate the Games.
The shows in the North — the first of which is to take place at the 1,500-seat East Pyongyang Grand Theater today — are to be taped and edited by a South Korean video crew to be made into a joint TV program for both countries, Yonhap News Agency.
The South Korean musicians taking part include singers and bands from a variety of genres, ranging from traditional folk songs to trendier K-pop, while about 20 taekwondo performers have also travelled.
Among those due to perform are Cho Yong-pil, the influential 68-year-old “King” of K-pop who performed a solo concert in Pyongyang in 2005, and Choi Jin-hee, 61, who took to the stage in the North in 1999, 2002 and 2005.
Her 1984 mega hit Love Maze was reported to be late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s favorite song and is credited with helping South Korean pop culture gain a following in the socialist state.
Love Maze is often heard playing in Pyongyang restaurants, with its romantic lyrics altered to adulation of their leader.
Girl band Red Velvet is also to perform in Pyongyang, venturing onto stages more traditionally occupied by North Korea’s own mega girl group, the Moranbong band, who are famous for their fast-paced patriotic songs.
Seohyun, a 26-year-old star from K-pop group Girls’ Generation, is to act as a master of ceremony for the events in Pyongyang. She made a surprise appearance alongside a North Korean classical music ensemble during their performance in Seoul last month.
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