The 38th parallel, a popular name given to latitude 38° N that in East Asia roughly demarcates North Korea and South Korea. Initially meant as just a temporary truce-line while the legal intricacies of officially ending the Korean War were sorted out, it has unfortunately become a permanent feature that separates the 2 Korean states. Well, it looks like things may soon change…..
An TV variety news programme recently aired by the Free Asia channel featured a news snippet that talked about the increasing popularity of K-Pop among the youths in the strongly Communist state of North Korea.
A Chinese businessman, whose job requirement necessitated frequent travel to North Korea, was quoted as saying: “Korean dances have started becoming more popular among the youth in Pyongyang lately. Just a while back, I got a request from an upper class woman asking me to get a Girls’ Generation CD for her.” He went on to add that: “Upper class men in their 20’s or younger who live in Pyongyang are getting so fanatical about K-Pop that if you don’t know South Korean dances, you don’t fit in. Famous dance instructors who teach professionally in Pyongyang have also been popping up recently, and they receive $20 for a months’ worth of dance lessons. These instructors turn on dance music behind closed doors and teach their students how to dance and sing. Nowadays, mothers in upper class homes don’t send their children for accordion, guitar or music lessons. Instead, they have started gaining interest in learning to sing and dance.”
Comments by Netizens to this piece of information ranged from: “Hallyu has dug its way to North Korea.”, “Incredible strength of K-Pop!” to “Korean dances performed by North Korean children… I wonder what that’s like?”
Well, it certainly looks like our 9 beloved ladies may actually have a chance to make a big difference in the geo-political situation of the world by their music and influence. Wouldn’t it be great if the angelic 9 actually showcased a K-Pop All Stars concert in Pyongyang, and the positive impact of the event initiated the powers-that-be in the 2 countries to finally start talking about a permanent peace to their longstanding feud 😉 ?
I am pretty sure UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon (Seohyun’s idol :)) will be forever grateful to our beautiful ladies for their help in ending this divisive situation between the 2 countries.
If that were to actually occur, our beloved ladies will truly have achieved world domination :D.
sources: Free Asia, gayqueenful@soshified.com
SNSD Korean 
SNSD really can be the unifying power regardless of language, of country, of any differences that can set people apart, as we’ve already seen how they’ve conquered the rest of the world so far 😀
Music and SNSD can work their universality and charm and bring the two Koreas together, perhaps? Then it would really be Global Generation! ^^
well, may it be South or North, it’s still Korea.. and come on, it’s So Nyuh Shi Dae we’re talking here. You know, like they’re dominating the whole world already.. and there’s no reason for the Northern ones not to like them.
If they are actually able to pull this through , the upcoming album after that should be something about super angels reuniting the 2 countries . kekeke ~~
Wayyy off topic, but I couldn’t help but notice “$20 for a months’ worth of lessons” ..aigooooo
north and south korea should unite and become one country. snsd will be president of the new country. problem solved!
Having K-Pop cross the 38th Parallel is already an achievement on it’s own. I’m surprised that upper class citizens are able to maintain some form of secrecy in their actions because North Korea tends to pull a fast one on anybody suspected of “treason”, but more so the frightening consequences should said citizens get caught.
It’s unfortunate that the country’s brutal regime necessitates discreetness, but I hope for those embracing K-Pop behind closed doors to live long enough to finally see the two Koreas reunited, and experience the joys of K-Pop with their own eyes.
If there’s one thing which brings the world together, it’s music, and K-Pop is no exception.
i wonder if this will become a pro or con in result….
the concept is pretty scary.
Some war seperates North n South Korea but Soshi combines them together.. great news… XD
North Korea’s never been able to keep a lid on everything. It’s quite frankly a miracle that it’s lasted this long, even with contributions from gullible Western states. If the K-pop penetration is deep enough, may not be long before the Kims are gone completely and the peninsula reunites under the democratic government.
Don’t know if China or Russia’d like that, but we can only hope and pray for that outcome…
This is great news!! But even with the Hallyu Wave spreading to North Korea, it would definitely take much more than this to unite the 2 Koreans. Nevertheless, this is a definite step towards unification. However, I don’t really think the 2 Koreans should be united, they can remain as separate countries and still live in peace can’t they? 🙂
SNSD truly is a revolutionary global trend. ^_^
I honestly find it hard to believe.. They have put people in prison for years when they found out someone was listening to kpop..
wow im just amazed by how much power they are gaining.
From what little I have read of N. Korea, the regime espouses an independent/self-reliant view and tries to eliminate all foreign influences. They had even gone as far as trying to purge all Chinese-origin words from their language to keep it “pure.”. By contrast, the S. Korean language has evolved by retaining foreign-origin words from China/Japan as well as gaining English-origin words (which is apparent to anyone who has watched a K-drama). Even defectors from the North have some difficulty with these English-origin words, as the North has no Western influences.
Of course, k-pop has foreign influences: The Western group names, the English words/phrases, the rap parts, composers from Europe, choreographers from Japan, songs in Japanese/Chinese, concert performances of Western songs, non-ethnic Korean idols, and now even mixed-race performers. I wonder how the regime will try to explain the popularity of a globalized k-pop amongst the children of the elites who have most bought into the N. Korean system?
my guess is that they won’t bother explaining it
This is maybe the most thought provoking (beyond just K-pop) piece i’ve read here. Good stuff, Kenneth. I really enjoyed this post and everyone’s insightful comments.
~have a Sunny day =)
In order for there to be world peace, there can only be one Kim ruling the world, and that is Kim Taeyeon!
I agree with Megan. I find it hard to believe too. Kenneth, I’m just wondering where the source of this information is and if it’s completely accurate. If you’ve seen the documentary with Lisa Ling, North Koreans seem to not have any power to do anything they want. If they listed to music wouldn’t they and their families be put into the strict prisons? It would be awesome if Soshi could renuite the countries 😀 but I just thought that North Koreans weren’t allowed to learn about the outside world. I remember one person in that documentary was a North Korean who fled to South Korea and he was chased on they way and almost killed.
@ Megan, Soshi
To be honest, I can’t really comment on the relative accuracy of the facts presented in the programme. However, do note that in any totalitarian regime, there is always a certain level of corruption involved (i.e. money and influence “talks” ;)) Perhaps the aforementioned examples have considerable influence in the North Korean political arena and so can get away with some minor indiscretions to the system.
After all, a very good example is the younger Kim, who was actually spotted outside of North Korea attending a pop concert by a well-known pop artiste 🙂 !
Anyway, the woman mentioned in the programme only requested the businessman to help her get a SNSD music CD, and the dance practices used as examples of the Hallyu influence were obviously conducted behind closed doors, away from the public eye.
Sometimes a minor infraction can be ignored by the authorities if it is perceived as not being a potential catalyst for major change in the established system of government.
We can only wish that the positive effects of K-Pop will eventually help to unite the 2 Koreas. Cheers !
I wouldn’t let them go to NK…