Art and Performance

A Roundtable Review of Shine Choi’s Re-Imagining North Korea in International Politics

By | July 22, 2015

In a new “neutron star” of a book, sociologist Shine Choi delves into the many ways of seeing North Korea. Sino-NK reviews the argumentative battlefield.

Purges, Baekdu, and the Moranbong Band: Data Points around General Hyon

By | May 16, 2015

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.

Spaces of Leisure: The Socialist Modern at Rest and Play

By | November 09, 2014

In this final essay of a new triliogy, Robert Winstanley-Chesters traces connections between early repertoires of promenading on the banks of the Taedong and contemporary watery manifestations at Munsu and Rungna.

German Shepherds and German Musical Politics in North Korea

By | October 01, 2014

Among the elite music academies of Pyongyang, performances take place of German symphonic literature and avant-garde contemporary music; our editor-in-chief assesses the scene.