Episode 5: Culture, Identity, the Arts, and Unification.

Through my in-person interview with North Korean musician Eunju Yoo, we discuss the Arts and unique culture of North Korea. We touch on access to instruments and education, the kind of music taught, the importance of preserving traditional folk arts and music, how music has been used to maintain control of the people, and the need for propaganda to be archived for historical purposes but removed from Korean society. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Voices from the Hidden Kingdom is a program dedicated to sharing North Korean refugee stories, facts about their homeland, and facilitate conversations around some of the most pressing issues that the people face today and into the future. New Korea Foundation International acts as an intermediary, advocate, and public-facing voice for those willing to share their knowledge and experiences with you, the listener. All names have been changed to protect all participants and their family members who may remain in North Korea. Episode 5. Working in the field of NGOs, nonprofit, humanitarian aid, and human rights, it's really easy to do things wrong with the best of intentions in mind. This is what happens when we focus on what we want to see happen, and don't keep in mind those that are impacted and served by what we do. This is a common theme for North Korea over the past 116 years and serves as a serious consideration as people, organizations, and world leaders work toward the reunification of the Korean peninsula and its people. It has been witnessed time and time again. Oftentimes the first thing to be erased is the unique culture, arts, and identity of the people. Though North and South Koreans are from the same root and share many traditions and cultural elements, the freedom and modernization of the South has led to a culture that differs significantly from their northern peers. And it is this unique identity that must be considered and preserved for the national pride and inclusion of the people. One of the truly unique areas of inclusion are the arts. For the people of North Korea, their art, music, poetry, literature, and more has been tightly controlled. While traditional styles, instruments, and motifs exist, the words, images, and themes have all been shifted to center around the regime and the cult of personality of the Kim family. The very heart of the people's cultural identity has been hijacked. Another consideration is that the absolute isolation under which people have lived created a true cultural vacuum overall for Korean culture, music, history, preserving unique clan cultures and styles and themes. This may represent some of the most truly perfectly preserved historical cultural content in the modern day. And it'll be very important for all unification partners to document and preserve what we find. In a recent conversation with musician and North Korean defector Yunji Yu, we discussed the importance of music in North Korean culture, who has access to instruments and formal education, and how preservation may or may not be important in certain areas. So how old were you when you began learning music?

SPEAKER_02 3:18

I started learning guitar when I was eight years old. Actually, I had been doing dance since I was three.

SPEAKER_00 3:28

Oh my.

SPEAKER_02 3:29

But when I turned eight, my father suddenly told me, from now on you are going to learn guitar. So that's how I began playing. My father had seen a performance by an amazing guitarist and was so impressed by it. He later told me that he thought I hope my daughter can become a beautiful, a wonderful guitarist like that someday. Just like a parent.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

Was it North Korean performance? Yes, yeah, North Korean performance.

SPEAKER_02 4:19

Yeah, it's a famous performance.

SPEAKER_00 4:23

From what I know about access to instruments and education and opportunity in North Korea, you must have grown up in a little bit bigger city with a family that was viewed perhaps favorable.

SPEAKER_02 4:39

Uh when I went to the music academy, most of the students who studied music came from worthy, worthy family. Families. After morning uh classes at school, uh we would go to the academy in the afternoon and everyone brought their own lunchbox. But my family was not well off. So my mother always uh paid special attention to my lunch. She did it she didn't want me to feel um oh how how to read it. Oh ashamed. She didn't want you to feel ashamed at all. Oh yeah, yeah, this core rigid.

SPEAKER_00 5:29

Oh yes. So she didn't want you to feel like embarrassed or ashamed or discouraged.

SPEAKER_02 5:35

Yes, even she she picked white rice in my lunch box for me every single day. Because of that, I often thought about quitting music.

SPEAKER_00 5:52

Yeah. Yeah, because it was difficult. She made sacrifices. Yes. What a mom. Yeah. Um, so we had talked uh when I first got here about if you had ever heard or played Western classical music or if you only played North Korean music.

SPEAKER_02 6:18

Only North Korean music. Uh I played in North Korean popular music. There was also classical uh song books mostly made up of uh popular songs with some liberal liber liberty songs. Sure, like the the revolutionary as well. At that time I had not really been exposed to classical music. I first encountered classical music when I entered middle school and began taking the lessons from a classical guitar teacher who had come from Japan.

SPEAKER_00 7:16

Oh, so your private tutor, your private teacher had been from Japan and kind of snuck in she's uh Korean Japan Japanese. Ah, okay. Neat. Very good. Is there a difference between cultural North Korean music and South Korean music? Like the umaku, is there a difference between the two?

SPEAKER_02 7:43

Sometimes North Korean popular music also include love stories but propaganda songs for the regime regime are very different. First of all or even the even the melodies are different. The melodies are meant sound power and uplifting. Oh sure. And the lyrics are written for propaganda purposes, praising the Kim family and promoting their cultural.

SPEAKER_00 8:33

Um so the lyrics are written for oh for um like propaganda purposes, praising the Kim family. Oh, and pro oh okay, and promoting the cult of personality. Yes, that is such a such a big thing in art and music, it seems. I've seen so many posters um that seem to be the same thing. Yes. What is the most famous North Korean song? Not the national anthem.

SPEAKER_02 9:01

Not the national. Uh not really.

SPEAKER_00 9:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 9:10

Yeah, but I think there are two ways to look at the question. If we mean the songs that are officially considered famous in other two service in that country, then of course I would have to say songs prizing the Kim family. Okay. But the songs that I personally think are truly popular are South Korea songs. Korean pop music is extremely popular in in North Korea. So it's I don't know how other country music but it's similar, but same.

SPEAKER_00 9:59

I think that there are from what I understand, there are like very old songs that are mostly the same or are the same. Like Ariran is the same melody, but different words. So they share the same the same. Ariang. Yeah, Arirang has the same melody, but different words between North and South Korea and some other areas.

SPEAKER_02 10:27

Oh, Ariang is not just a South Korean song, it's a song of all Korean people, both North and South. So I believe North Koreans would feel the same emotions when they hear it.

SPEAKER_00 10:47

Yeah, I I had wondered. So the song Arirang has become very popular around the whole world because of BTS. Yes, yeah. And I I wondered how would North Koreans respond if they saw a stadium every night with a hundred thousand people around the world from uh Korean, Japanese, Mexican, American, Canadian, all singing Ari Dang.

SPEAKER_01 11:20

Wow, all of it.

SPEAKER_00 11:21

That's amazing. Would they be surprised?

SPEAKER_02 11:24

They maybe wow, uh they think, oh wow, our people's songs is so beautiful and powerful. But they also, yeah, think about it. Emotions and it's it's a beautiful song. Beautiful song. Beautiful song. They also, yeah. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:46

Yeah, everybody likes it. Um, when you were in college learning music, was there ever a conversation about different clans, different style of music, different instruments, like traditional Korean instrument and music of different areas, or only Kim songs?

SPEAKER_02 12:12

Only Kim songs, but the same in or other country, but some just a few people they can go to other country for study. Just a few people. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:31

Cause I know that um one of the things that um is always a consideration when uh like a unification or one country absorbs another is the loss of culture, the loss of the voice of the people. So what do you think will happen to all of the regime-focused music after reunification that talks about the Kim dynasty? Will it disappear? Will it stay? Will we remember it for 100 years? How important will it be to preserve true North Korean music, like true traditional music?

SPEAKER_02 13:15

Both the art in North Korea is centered around praising the Kim family. However, the part of North Korean art that I believe should be preserved is our traditional Korean culture and music that existed before North and South Korea were debated. For example, traditional dance and folk music. North Korea is often better, better than the South at preserving and performing those traditional pork art. I I hope those traditionals will continue to be passed down.

SPEAKER_00 14:07

Yeah, I know sometimes they can disappear if we aren't careful to preserve them. What is the name of it's a storytelling pansori.

SPEAKER_02 14:20

A pansori. Yes, yeah. Pansori is a tritioner.

SPEAKER_00 14:24

Yeah, yeah. Is it musular in North Korea?

SPEAKER_02 14:28

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 14:28

It takes me a while to remove. It's so cool.

SPEAKER_02 14:33

Yeah. Right. Oh, young Korean Young Korean. Oh very good.

SPEAKER_00 14:46

So what do you think will happen to all of the songs and art about the Kim regime after reunification? Will they just disappear or be kept alive?

SPEAKER_02 15:01

Or Oh, it's a hard.

SPEAKER_00 15:05

Oh, it says if Korea is reunified, propaganda music for the regime would probably disappear. In North Korean songs, there are very few lyrics that do not include praise for the Kim family or propaganda supporting the regime. Okay. So essentially, if the reunification happens, which we hope, that it's likely that those songs and that artwork will fade away, but maybe be preserved in like books or library recording or something. They won't completely disappear, but they won't be common.

SPEAKER_02 15:45

Have to disappear.

SPEAKER_00 15:46

Yeah, yeah. Right? Like we'll put it in a book and then we'll close it. And we'll save it so that we don't forget what happens. But but we won't play it on the radio. I was wondering, it is often said that music can unite people in ways that words or spoken language can't. With this in mind, do you think it will be important for new uh traditional music and other art forms to be created to express one Korea, like unification?

SPEAKER_02 16:25

Oh, it's my English is okay. The power of music is incredible. North Korea in particular has used the power of music very effectively. Even during times of severe hunger, music was used to be bringing people together.

SPEAKER_00 16:59

Oh, it's hard. Well, share here. No, so the power of music is incredible. North Korea in particular has used the power of music very effectively, even during times of severe hunger. Music was used to bring the people together. Yeah. I mean it I think that's really something that maybe people don't think about music is powerful and music speaks in ways that words can't, but it can also be used to control things, which I, you know, I think you know, I don't I haven't thought about much, but I think it's definitely true. Um and it can be that can be good, that can be bad. What would you tell North Koreans about the outside world now that you live here?

SPEAKER_02 17:51

Oh freedom. Outside of North Korea, there is a world where people can live freely.

SPEAKER_00 17:59

I when I when speaking yesterday with our friend, he had said because North Korea has no choice, but freedom is being able to choose anything, food or house or school. That's one example. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. So so you would tell them, you know, freedom. Yes, absolutely freedom is is yours.

SPEAKER_02 18:24

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 18:24

Yeah. If you could tell the world about North Korea, what would you tell them?

SPEAKER_02 18:33

Please pray for freedom for the people of North Korea.

SPEAKER_00 18:40

Yeah. There's so much to think about and so much to worry about for North Korea. So definitely pray for them, think about them. And I always encourage people to get involved, do something, do anything. So well, I really appreciate your time. I know this was very last minute and a little difficult, and I'm sorry, but it's nice to meet you. It's good to talk. I look forward to hearing your music more and uh hearing about your future. Thank you for inviting me. Yes. Thank you. All right, thank you, and goodbye. Bye. This recording was made in May 2026 while I was visiting Seoul, South Korea and spending time in the New Korea Foundation Mission Field Office. Art, music, and cultural heritage are foundational elements of every society. They have the power to stir our emotions, challenge our perceptions, and help us to better understand our world, helping us to grow into better human beings. But as much positive growth can be gleaned from the arts, through this interview, I also became keenly aware of how the power of art, music, and culture can be co-opted and controlled for nefarious purposes. Like government-designed thought reform, aka brainwashing, and I can't help but personally step back and assess my own environments, such as books and music, as well as my values, core beliefs, and where my loyalties lie as an American. Thankfully, our consumption here in the free world is still our choice. And we have the freedom to grow, change our minds, and reform our ideas as we learn, resulting in new art, literature, music, and more. We can control what our culture will ultimately embrace and reflect outward as needed. And, wildly enough, the term brainwashing was made in 1950 by Edward Hunter, an American journalist, propagandist, and former Intel agent. He was reviewing what was going on in Korea during the Korean War. And while his views are mostly aligned with conservative values and have often been identified as deeply rooted in romanticized mysticism and witchcraft in East Asia and the Cold War rhetoric of the 1950s and beyond, he did touch on very important aspects of governmental control and the impact it has on the arts and the people it serves. Summed up, through isolation, total control of the media and movement, carefully crafted self-aggrandizing language, expressing purity principles of righteousness and inclusion, and the use of division through demonization and systems of punishment, the regime has taken and held control tightly on North Korea through the music, art, and media. And as was mentioned with Yunjiu, only through a complete embracing of the true pre-regime arts and cultural heritage, as well as building new narratives, will North Korea reclaim its cultural identity and be able to rejoin the South with cultural pride. And while this might seem like an impossibility, you can support this rewriting starting today. Through the New Korea Hope broadcast, you can join us in sharing the news of the world, stories from defectors, music, scripture, and letters of hope. To learn more, visit nkhb.org forward slash EN. On this website, you can find out how you can support active change starting today. If you feel led to support this program through financial means, you can visit our website at newcoreafi.org and find the donate button there. You can give via digital means at Zell or PayPal using giving at newcoreafi.org. Or you can mail a check payment to our mailing address, which is 4048 Lakeland Avenue North, number 22171, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55422. Now, if you enjoyed this podcast, be sure to like and subscribe. And if you could, please share it with your friends, family, colleagues, and even your faith leaders. It's only through the support of people like you that we will be able to continue to do these podcasts and share the information and experiences of North Koreans like you and G. Thank you, and we'll see you next time. Voices from the Hidden Kingdom was brought to you by New Korea Foundation International, a U.S.-based 501c3 advocating for North Korean refugees, their nation, and their families. Thank you for listening.