"The General Uses Warp" () is a

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 borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

n song praising

Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Il (born Yuri Kim; 16 February 1941 or 1942 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader of North Korea from Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung, the de ...

. The song was first released in 1996 by

Wangjaesan Light Music Band The Wangjaesan Light Music Band () is a light music (''kyŏngŭmak'') group in North Korea. It is one of two (with Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble) popular music groups that were established by North Korea in the 1980s, both named after places whe ...

, with lyrics written by Chong Ryol () and music composed by Kim Un-ryong ().

Background

The song, released in the middle of the

1990s North Korean famine The North Korean famine (), dubbed by the government as the Arduous March (), was a period of mass starvation together with a general economic crisis from 1995 to 2000 in North Korea. During this time there was an increase in defection from No ...

, claims that

and his father

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 led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...

could use '' chukjibeop'', a magic ability attributed to ''xians'', Taoist immortals, also known as ''suōdì'' in Chinese and ''shukuchi'' in Japanese. It literally means "earth-shrinking" and describes mythical techniques of rapid movement and

teleportation Teleportation is the hypothetical transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. It is a common subject in science fiction and fantasy literature. Teleportation is often paired with tim ...

. The story dates back to pre-war times, when a legend arose that Korean guerilla fighters, including Kim Il Sung, used this ability to escape Japanese forces during the

war for independence This is a list of wars of independence, including armed conflicts fought for independence of a nation. These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List : : : : : : See also * Resistance during World ...

. This was one of many methods used to deify and exalt the leaders since the Kim Jong Il era, along with claims that

Kim Jong Un Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...

can bring good weather when he travels. In 2019, however, Kim Jong Un instructed the propaganda workers to stay away from mystification of the leaders. While his father distanced himself from the public with such supernatural praise, the current supreme leader chooses to imitate his grandfather Kim Il Sung, who worked to create a friendly and relatable image.

Lyrics

Reaction

Despite being created to praise North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, the song became a meme and a source of parodies in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

due to its absurd themes. Praising North Korean regime is criminal under the South Korean law, but the use of this song and its parodies is tolerated as it is perceived as ironic and satirical. In 2012, when the website of the left-wing

Unified Progressive Party The Unified Progressive Party (UPP; ) is a banned political party in South Korea. It was founded on 13 December 2011 as a merger of the Democratic Labor Party, the People's Participation Party of Rhyu Si-min, and a faction of the New Progre ...

was hacked, the hackers used this song as background music on its main page. In 2020, the

Korean Workers' Party The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), also called the Korean Workers' Party (KWP), is the sole ruling party of North Korea. Founded in 1949 from a merger between the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of South Korea, the WPK is ...

newspaper ''

Rodong Sinmun ''Rodong Sinmun'' (; ) is a North Korean official newspaper of record of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. It was first published on 1 November 1945, as ''Chŏngro'' (), serving as a communication channel for the North ...

'' published a purported anecdote from 1945 in which Kim Il Sung described methods of deception he used while fighting the Japanese forces, while denying the literal existence of ''chukjibeop'': This article was interpreted by South Korean and international media as a possible step back from the supernatural mystification of North Korea's leaders, in line with guidance that Kim Jong Un had provided a year earlier. However, the same article with minor differences was already published by the same North Korean newspaper in 2015 and again in 2018 without any media attention.

References

External links

* (Wangjaesan Light Music Band version) {{DEFAULTSORT:General Uses Warp North Korean propaganda songs Patriotic songs 1996 songs Songs about Kim Jong Il