When North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un released his latest song two weeks ago, surely he couldn’t have foreseen it becoming a hit on TikTok.
But the propaganda tune has gone viral online with Gen Z users bopping around to the synthy-electro pop.
Most are clearly quite oblivious to the Korean lyrics praising a man who’s vowed to “thoroughly annihilate the US” and launched dozens of ballistic missiles
But the sunny pop hides something more sinister, experts say.
there’s more than just commercial considerations at play when writing a chart-topper in North Korea - authorities want an earworm that penetrates minds.
There’s no space for abstract phrasing or timing that’s overly complicated , says Alexandra Leonzini, a Cambridge University scholar who researches North Korean music.
Melodies have to be simple, accessible, something people can easily pick up.
Tunes also need to be pitched at a vocal range where they can be sung by most people. The masses can’t keep up with vocal gymnastics, so forget about multi-octave riffs.
the songbook also rarely contains any tracks with real emotion
Hive mind npc communists brainwashed by appealing simplicity of juche-pop hit
Pyongyang keeps its pop tracks for those at home. The state has paraded its opera troupes and symphony orchestras on overseas missions – but its lighter ensembles are kept for a domestic audience only.
It's streaming. You are literally writing an article about it going viral
The song sheet and lyrics of the latest songs - which only come out sparingly - are printed in newspapers and magazines;
“A song is almost like the newspaper in North Korea.”
they print the "songs" in these newspapers, but it's almost like the songs are the newspapers. What else is in the newspapers? Idk probably just more songs
usually they also have to learn dances to go with it
“By the time the song has sort of been taken into the body, it’s become part of the person,” he says
"I am currently hitting the griddy for Ukraine"
Meanwhile on TikTok, users are just enjoying the music.
For many American users, the irony’s not been lost on them that a Communist song has gone viral on the Chinese-owned app while US lawmakers are trying to ban it.
