Abstracts Category : Other

Characteristics of North Korean Music under Juche philosophy withreference to the Revolutionary Opera Sea of Blood and the Moranbongband / Two examination concerts

by Kisoo Cho

Juche philosophy, the reigning ideology of NorthKorea, has governed the country for over half a century. Allrealms, including politics, economy, society and culture, in NorthKorea are ruled by Juche philosophy. North Korean music has alsobeen strongly influenced by the philosophy. It is regarded as aperfect tool to indoctrinate the philosophy to the public. Thisstudy aims to interrogate how North Korean music has beentransformed under Juche philosophy and the perception of the NorthKorean governors about music, by examining the political platformsand rules set by the North Korean government for musicians andmusic associations and the specific features in the music that canbe identified as being influenced by the Juche philosophy. Althoughthe dissertation restates much of the existing research on thetopic, it is one of the first academic works that provides with thedetailed analysis on North Korean music (specifically the Moranbongband) of the current Kim regime. The Revolutionary Opera Sea ofBlood and the Moranbong band embody Juche philosophy. Sea of Bloodis one of the most representative musical pieces created during theIl-Sung Kim and Jung-Il Kim regimes. The opera contains ananti-Japanese plot and emphasises the autonomous (Juche) spirit andsocialism. The Moranbong band has played the role of spokesman forthe Jung-Eun Kim regime. All the reaction of the North Koreangovernment against internal and external political issues is shownin concerts of the band. It is no exaggeration to say that all thearias and songs performed in the opera and the band concertscontain political messages. In this dissertation, the musicalstructure and characteristics of the opera and the band arethoroughly analysed to illustrate the relationship between NorthKorean music and Juche philosophy.Advisors/Committee Members: Stanford, H.J. (advisor).