Luxury, but little sex appeal: How Kim Jong Un is transforming North Korean pop



Interviews Luxury, but little sex appeal: How Kim Jong Un is transforming North Korean pop Music professor Keith Howard’s new book digs into how North Korean songs have changed under various Kims Luz Ding November 26, 2020 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON KCTV After dipping its toes in the glitz and glam of modern pop music, North Korea’s state music scene now appears to be returning to more conservative and toned-down values. But even so, Kim Jong Un has broadly changed the face and feel of North Korean music to match what we see in much of the rest of the world, according to Keith Howard, a music professor at SOAS University of London. That includes pursuing a more young, "nouveau riche" kind of feel — a seed that former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il planted at the turn of the century. After dipping its toes in the glitz and glam of modern pop music, North Korea’s state music scene now appears to be returning to more conservative and toned-down values. But even so, Kim Jong Un has broadly changed the face and feel of North Korean music to match what we see in much of the rest of the world, according to Keith Howard, a music professor at SOAS University of London. That includes pursuing a more young, "nouveau riche" kind of feel — a seed that former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il planted at the turn of the century. 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

Interviews

Luxury, but little sex appeal: How Kim Jong Un is transforming North Korean pop

Music professor Keith Howard’s new book digs into how North Korean songs have changed under various Kims

Luz Ding November 26, 2020

Luxury, but little sex appeal: How Kim Jong Un is transforming North Korean pop

KCTV

After dipping its toes in the glitz and glam of modern pop music, North Korea’s state music scene now appears to be returning to more conservative and toned-down values.

But even so, Kim Jong Un has broadly changed the face and feel of North Korean music to match what we see in much of the rest of the world, according to Keith Howard, a music professor at SOAS University of London. That includes pursuing a more young, "nouveau riche" kind of feel — a seed that former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il planted at the turn of the century.