Wangjaesan Light Music Band | |
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![]() The band's insignia features a saxophone and a Kimjongilia bloom. | |
Background information | |
Origin | Pyongyang, North Korea |
Genres | Light music |
Years active | 1983-present |
Korean name | |
Chosŏn'gŭl | 왕재산 경음악단 |
Hancha | 旺載山輕音樂團 / 王在山輕音樂團 |
Revised Romanization | Wangjaesan Gyeongeumakdan |
McCune–Reischauer | Wangjaesan Kyŏngŭmaktan |
The Wangjaesan Light Music Band (Korean : 왕재산 경음악단; MR : Wangjaesan Kyŏngŭmaktan) is a light music (kyŏngŭmak) group in North Korea. It is one of two (with Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble) popular music groups that were established by North Korea in the 1980s, both named after places where Kim Il Sung fought the Japanese in 1930s. [1] It takes its name from Mount Wangjae in Onsong-gun, North Hamgyong Province, on the border with China (Japan puppet state Manchukuo in that period), where Kim Il Sung is said to have held a meeting for anti-Japanese activities in 1933.
The band was established by the North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, son and heir of Kim Il Sung, on 22 July 1983. Its music was often broadcast over Korean Central Broadcasting Station channels such as Radio Pyongyang and as test card music for Korean Central Television. The Wangjaesan Dance Troupe is part of the group. [2]
On 29 August 2013, The Chosun Ilbo reported that key members of the Wangjaesan Light Music Band were made to watch the execution by firing squad of other musicians and dancers from their band, as well as members of the Unhasu Orchestra and the singer Hyon Song-wol, on the orders of Kim Jong Un. The Wangjaesan Light Music Band was subsequently disbanded. [3] Some experts however were dubious of this claim, such as Barbara Demick, author of Nothing to Envy . Demick told Business Insider "...it is hard to trust this stuff. A lot of deliberate misinformation out there." Chad O'Carroll of NK News, a North Korean analyst website, stated: "You've got to remember that a lot of the time the source is South Korean and it's in their interest to distort or perhaps weave the truth every now and then". [4] John Delury from the Yonsei University in Seoul told The Guardian: "This stuff gets planted regularly in media outlets and then quickly goes viral. There's a global appetite for any North Korea story and the more salacious the better. Some of it is probably true — but a great deal of it is probably not". Delury also added: "The normal standards of journalism are thrown out of the window because the attitude is: 'It's North Korea — no one knows what's going on in there'". [5] Hyon Song-wol was later shown to be alive. [6]
The South Korean reports came approximately a month after the Workers' Party of Korea Central Committee had issued a message of anniversary congratulations to the troupe. [7]
In 2015, the band reunited for the "Songs Full of Memories" concert series (February–March) and the joint performance "Great Party, Rosy Korea" in October. [8]
The Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble (PEE) is an orchestra from North Korea (DPRK). It is famous for its performances of revolutionary and folk songs, as well as some covers of pop songs in the west, including "Brother Louie" by Modern Talking and "One Way Ticket". They have been reported to be one of the country's most popular groups.
Yon Hyong-muk, also spelt Yong Hyong-muk, was a long-serving politician in North Korea and at the height of his career the most powerful person in that country outside the Kim family. He was Prime Minister of North Korea from 1988 to 1992.
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Parliamentary elections were held in North Korea on 3 August 2003. Representatives were elected for five-year terms to all 687 seats of the Supreme People's Assembly, and also to 26,650 positions in city, county, and provincial People's Assemblies. All candidates were members of the three parties constituting the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland.
Parliamentary elections were held in North Korea on 2 November 1986. 655 Deputies were elected to the parliament.
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Parliamentary elections were held in North Korea on 25 August 1948 to elect the members of the 1st Supreme People's Assembly. Organised by the People's Committee of North Korea, the elections saw 572 deputies elected, of which 212 were from North Korea and 360 from South Korea.
Parliamentary elections were held in North Korea on 27 August 1957 to elect members of the 2nd Supreme People's Assembly. Voters were presented with a single list from the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland, dominated by the Workers' Party of Korea.
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Parliamentary elections were held in North Korea on 26 July 1998. 687 deputies were elected to the tenth Supreme People's Assembly. There was only one nominated candidate per constituency — 687 candidates for 687 seats. According to the state news agency KCNA, the turnout rate was 99.85%, and 100% of participating voters cast their ballots in favour of the registered candidates. About two thirds of the deputies were new, and deputies with a military background reportedly doubled in number. Kim Jong-il was unanimously elected in constituency n°666. According to a Rodong Sinmun editorial, this proved "how deep the Korean people's trust in Kim Jong Il is and how powerful and solid the monolithic unity of the people around him in one thought and purpose and with moral obligation is."
The death of Kim Jong Il was reported by North Korean state television news on 19 December 2011. The presenter Ri Chun-hee announced that he had died on 17 December at 8:30 am of a massive heart attack while travelling by train to an area outside Pyongyang. Reportedly, he had received medical treatment for cardiac and cerebrovascular diseases, and during the trip, Kim was said to have had an "advanced acute myocardial infarction, complicated with a serious heart shock". However, it was reported in December 2012 by South Korean media that the heart attack had instead occurred in a fit of rage over construction faults in a crucial power plant project at Huichon in Chagang Province.
Jon Pyong-ho was a North Korean officer and politician who served as the Chief Secretary of the Korean Workers Party (KWP) Committee of the North Korean Cabinet, and director of the DPRK Cabinet Political Bureau before his retirement in 2010. Jon was described as the 'Chief architect of North Korea's nuclear programme'. Jon was a general of the Korean People's Army and a close adviser to the late Kim Jong-il.
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The Unhasu Orchestra was a musical group based in Pyongyang, North Korea. It performed primarily with Western instruments, sometimes performing alongside traditional Korean soloists. The orchestra has a concert hall, the Unhasu Theater in Pyongyang, dedicated for its use. Ri Sol-ju, the wife of Kim Jong-un, was a singer in this group. According to ex-North Korean senior government official Thae Yong-ho, the orchestra was disbanded on the 12th August 2013.
The Moranbong Band, also known as the Moran Hill Orchestra, is a North Korean girl group. Performing interpretive styles of pop, rock, and fusion, they are the first all-female band from the DPRK, and made their world debut on 6 July 2012. Their varied musical style has been described as symphonic because it is "putting together different kinds of sounds, and ending in a harmonious, pleasing result."
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Parliamentary elections were held in North Korea on 10 March 2019 to elect the members of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly. The elections were announced on 6 January 2019. With only one candidate on the ballot in each constituency, outside observers described it as a show election. 687 candidates for the DPRK deputies to the SPA were elected. Kim Jong Un did not stand for election, marking the first time that a North Korean leader did not participate as a candidate.
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