Gen Z’ers and other young people around the globe are dancing to “Friendly Father” or posting remixed versions of it. But under Kim, the third-generation leader who took power in late 2011, North Korea has become the propaganda king, with more experimental pop-inflected music. In a music video released by North Korean state media, a military official cries in Kim’s arms while pilots, construction workers and children sing along. In 2021, a remix of the Chinese propaganda song “Red Sun in the Sky,” which praises Mao Zedong, became popular on YouTube and TikTok. The 30-year-old British citizen found herself singing along to North Korean tunes when she visited, before the Kim regime closed its borders in 2020 because of the pandemic.

Source: Wall Street Journal July 03, 2024 04:55 UTC