North Korea is quite an obscure and small country, but it also has a distinctive music culture that can widen the perspectives of listeners. This country is a unique case since it is a country that has walled itself off from the globe's cultural, artistic, and scientific advancement.
As North Korea is a culturally isolated society, it must have been an artistically isolated country, too. North Korea is a relatively new nation, so its music culture vastly differs from other countries and cultures.
Korea's Patriotic Music
When North Korea established its state, music played a crucial role in stirring patriotism among the people. The government has a stronghold on what is produced, hence why North Korean music reflects the values of Juche or self-reliance and self-preservation.
There are a plethora of patriotic songs in North Korea. Some well-known ones are Aegukka (anthem of the country), Potato Pride, a North Korean pop song for kids about potatoes, Taejung kayo, We Will Go to Mount Peaktu, and numerous more songs. These songs are imbued with reverence for North Korean values, leaders, and ideologies.
We Will Go to Mount Peaktu, for example, revolves around a sacred monument, Mount Peaktu, representing Korean unity, triumph, and even imperial power.
Being the highest mountain in Korea, North Korean leaders such as Kim Jong Un have climbed the mountain in the past, primarily to bolster their images as powerful heroes of their nation.
Stringent Cultural Regulations
The culture in North Korea has high restrictions from the rulers of the country. North Korea had a ban and crackdown on Jazz music, and it has also been known that the government makes it extremely difficult to practice religion, meaning that religious music and religious chants are virtually nonexistent in the nation.
The country also cracks down on South Korean music, such as K-pop, Pansori, and Trot. All of North Korea's music regulations are enforced to limit the country from outside influences and eliminate any threats to the Supreme Leader's rule of the country. Kim Jong-il did remove some regulations, though, particularly on jazz.
Pop Music in North Korea
There was still a North Korean pop culture, though. As long as the music did not threaten or disagree with the ruling leader's ideology, the music was left alone. There was a Korean death metal band called Red War. Though it did support the ideological norms of North Korea, the band represented something different from North Korean culture since this genre of music came from Germany.