Purges, Baekdu, and the Moranbong Band: Data Points around General Hyon
Using music as a medium, Adam Cathcart takes the field of debate regarding the alleged purge and execution of Hyon Yong-chol into the ultra-politicized realm of concert halls and power stations.
Rock Gospels: Analyzing the Artistic Style of Moranbong Band
Has Kim Jong-un disbanded the Moranbong Band for good? Pekka Korhonen, a visiting scholar at Kyoto University, suggests this is the wrong question to ask, and delves into a trove of revealing data.
The Korean Wave’s Northern Undertow: Cultural Hybridity and the Moranbong Band
Sherri L. Ter Molen examines the potential for the Moranbong Band, the North Korean all-girl musical performance group formed in 2012, to increase DPRK soft power by appealing to foreign audiences.
Packaged and Controlled by the Masculine State: Moranbong Band and Gender in New Chosun-Style Performance
Darcie Draudt and Jimin Lee provide analysis of the Moranbong Band, plowing into the debate over gender, reform, and the future of North Korea.
Moranbong Band: Joseon Style Electronic Music on a New Level
Sino-NK’s Performing Arts Analyst Jimin Lee examines the Moranbong Band’s debut “Demonstration Concert” through the lens of its own name—that is, as a demonstration of its potential to act as bridge to the world with its “New Joseon Style” of pop musical performance.