The Wangjaesan Light Music Band () is a light music (''kyŏngŭmak'') group in

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

. It is one of two (with

Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble The Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble is an orchestra from North Korea. It is famous for its performances of revolutionary and folk songs. They have been reported to be one of the country's most popular groups.

) popular music groups that were established by North Korea in the 1980s, both named after places where

Kim Il Sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

fought the Japanese in 1930s. It takes its name from Mount Wangjae in Onsong-gun,

North Hamgyong Province North Hamgyong Province (Hamgyŏngbukdo, ) is the northernmost province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Hamgyong Province. Geography The province is bordered by China (Jilin) on the north, S ...

, on the border with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

(Japan puppet state

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...

in that period), where

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 Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim ...

, son and heir of Kim Il Sung, on 22 July 1983. Its music was often broadcast over

Korean Central Broadcasting Station The Korean Central Broadcasting Station (KCBS) () is a domestic radio service operated by the Korean Central Broadcasting Committee, a state-owned broadcaster in North Korea. History KCBS was established on 14 October 1945 as Pyongyang Broadca ...

channels such as Radio Pyongyang and as test card music for

Korean Central Television Korean Central Television (KCTV; ) is a television service operated by the Korean Central Broadcasting Committee, a state-owned broadcaster in North Korea. It is broadcast terrestrially via the Pyongyang TV Tower in Moranbong-guyok, Pyongy ...

. The Wangjaesan Dance Troupe is part of the group.

Alleged executions and disbandment

On 29 August 2013, ''

The Chosun Ilbo ''The Chosun Ilbo'' (, ) is a daily newspaper in South Korea and the oldest daily newspaper in the country. With a daily circulation of more than 1,800,000, the ''Chosun Ilbo'' has been audited annually since the Audit Bureau of Circulations w ...

'' reported that key members of the Wangjaesan Light Music Band were made to watch the

execution by firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...

of other musicians and dancers from their band, as well as members of the

Unhasu Orchestra The Unhasu (Milky Way) Orchestra () was a musical group based in Pyongyang, North Korea. It performs primarily with Western instruments, sometimes performing alongside traditional Korean soloists. The orchestra has a concert hall, the ''Unhasu T ...

and the singer

Hyon Song-wol Hyon Song-wol (; born 1977) is a North Korean singer, band leader, and politician. She is the leader of the Moranbong Band and of the Samjiyon Orchestra. She was formerly a featured vocalist for the Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble in the early 200 ...

, on the orders of

Kim Jong Un Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's secon ...

. The Wangjaesan Light Music Band was subsequently disbanded. Some experts however were dubious of this claim, such as

Barbara Demick Barbara Demick is an American journalist. She was the Beijing bureau chief of the ''Los Angeles Times''. She is the author of ''Logavina Street: Life and Death in a Sarajevo Neighborhood'' (Andrews & McMeel, 1996). Her second book, '' Nothing to En ...

, author of ''

Nothing to Envy ''Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea'' is a 2009 nonfiction book by ''Los Angeles Times'' journalist Barbara Demick, based on interviews with North Korean refugees from the city of Chongjin who had escaped North Korea. In 2010, the ...

''. Demick told ''Business Insider'' "...it is hard to trust this stuff. A lot of deliberate misinformation out there." Chad O'Carroll of

NK News NK News is an American subscription-based news website that provides stories and analysis about North Korea. Established in 2011, it is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea with reporters in Washington, D.C. and London. Reporting is based on infor ...

, 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". John Delury from the

Yonsei University Yonsei University (; ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. As a member of the "SKY" universities, Yonsei University is deemed one of the three most prestigious institutions in the country. It is particularly respected in the ...

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'".

was later shown to be alive. 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.

Reappearance

In 2015, the band reunited for the "Songs Full of Memories" concert series (February–March) and the joint performance "

Great Party, Rosy Korea The ''10 000 People Strong Grand Art Performance Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea'' "Great Party, Rosy Korea" (Korean language, Korean: 조선로동당창건 70돐경축 1만명대공연 《위대한 당, 찬란한 ...

" in October.

Members

Singers

People's Actress Ryom Chong

O Jong Yun

Kim Myong Ok

Jong Myong Sin
* Kim Son Hui * Hyon Song Wol * Kim Jong Nyo * Jang Jong Ae
Hwang Suk Kyong

Kim Song Ok

Jong Sun Nyo
* Kim Ok Sun * Merited Actress Pak Bok Hui
Pak In Ok
* Jang Yun Hui * Kim Hwa Suk
Kim Hui Ok
* Ri Ok Hwa * Ko Kyong Ran * Ryom Tong Son * Kim Jong Nyo * Kim Sun Hui * Choe Kwang Ho * Kwon Mi Hwa * Ri Ok Hwa

Musicians

* Merited Artist Choe Mun Ho, conductor * Merited Actor Pak Chol Jun, trumpet * Jang Mu Kil, brass * Pak In Thae, trumpet * Ko Hwa Son, guitar * Jon Il, violin * Pak Man Chol, alto saxophone * Choe Hwi Thae, saxophone

References