A North Korean school of rock: teaching heavy metal to Pyongyang school girls



Features A North Korean school of rock: teaching heavy metal to Pyongyang school girls Funky Sueyoshi reflects on his time at the June 9th school — and whether music could ever inspire change in the DPRK Oliver Jia January 8, 2020 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON Courtesy of Funky Sueyoshi I’m waiting in the basement of the Umeda Zeela concert hall in Osaka, Japan. In just a few hours, drummer Funky Sueyoshi will be performing a 20th-anniversary concert with members of his band, X.Y.Z.→A (pronounced X, Y, Z to A). Wearing a simple T-shirt and his long white hair not quite stage-ready, Sueyoshi greets me cheerfully. His exterior is certainly that of a rockstar, but the man I’m talking to is far from your typical Japanese musician. I’m waiting in the basement of the Umeda Zeela concert hall in Osaka, Japan. In just a few hours, drummer Funky Sueyoshi will be performing a 20th-anniversary concert with members of his band, X.Y.Z.→A (pronounced X, Y, Z to A). Wearing a simple T-shirt and his long white hair not quite stage-ready, Sueyoshi greets me cheerfully. His exterior is certainly that of a rockstar, but the man I’m talking to is far from your typical Japanese musician. Try unlimited access Only $1 for four weeks Unlimited access to all of NK News: reporting, investigations, analysis Year-one discount if you continue past $1 trial period The NK News Daily Update, an email newsletter to keep you in the loop Searchable archive of all content, photo galleries, special columns Contact NK News reporters with tips or requests for reporting Get unlimited access to all NK News content, including original reporting, investigations, and analyses by our team of DPRK experts. Subscribe now All major cards accepted. No commitments – you can cancel any time. © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by And how should we address you in correspondence? One more step! Please check your inbox, for an email we just sent you, and click on the confirmation message in it to get subscribed to our Daily News Update. Trending

Features

A North Korean school of rock: teaching heavy metal to Pyongyang school girls

Funky Sueyoshi reflects on his time at the June 9th school — and whether music could ever inspire change in the DPRK

Oliver Jia January 8, 2020

A North Korean school of rock: teaching heavy metal to Pyongyang school girls

Courtesy of Funky Sueyoshi

I’m waiting in the basement of the Umeda Zeela concert hall in Osaka, Japan. In just a few hours, drummer Funky Sueyoshi will be performing a 20th-anniversary concert with members of his band, X.Y.Z.→A (pronounced X, Y, Z to A).

Wearing a simple T-shirt and his long white hair not quite stage-ready, Sueyoshi greets me cheerfully. His exterior is certainly that of a rockstar, but the man I’m talking to is far from your typical Japanese musician.

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A North Korean school of rock: teaching heavy metal to Pyongyang school girls

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