North Korean Samjiyon Band to perform during Pyeongchang Olympics

Posted on : 2018-01-16 17:31 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
140 member band will be performing in Gangneung and Seoul
Kwon Hyok-bong
Kwon Hyok-bong

North Korea has agreed to send the Samjiyon Band, an orchestra with more than 140 members, to South Korea to perform in Seoul and in Gangneung, a city in Gangwon Province, during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. South and North Korea reached this agreement during a working-level meeting at the Tongilgak (Unification Pavilion) on the North Korean side of Panmunjeom on Jan. 15 that was held to arrange a visit to South Korea by a group of North Korean artists. Vice minister-level chief negotiators from the two sides will be attending working-level talks scheduled for Jan. 17.

After the meeting, North and South Korean negotiators released a five-point joint press statement explaining that the group of artists would be the Samjiyon Band and that the band would perform in Gangneung and Seoul. South Korea’s negotiators were led by Lee Woo-sung, head of the culture and art policy office for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and North Korea’s negotiators by Kwon Hyok-bong, director of the bureau of art and performance operations at the Culture Ministry.

The negotiators agreed to hold further deliberations to decide on practical matters including the location of the concerts, the conditions of the performance, the necessary equipment and the set-up of that equipment. In connection with this, the North agreed that it would soon send a preliminary site inspection team. The joint press statement also said that South Korea would “do its best to guarantee the safety and convenience of the North Korean band.”

The two sides agreed to continue deliberating other issues that come up during the preparations by exchanging documents through the liaison channel at Panmunjeom.

According to an official at South Korea’s Unification Ministry, North Korea requested that the band be allowed to cross Panmunjeom and pass overland to South Korea. “In upcoming preparations, we will strive so that the performances by the North Korean band during the Pyeongchang Olympics help improve inter-Korean relations and restore cultural homogeneity,” the Ministry said.

Given the high-level officials, athletes, cheerleaders, observers, Taekwondo demonstration team and reporters that North Korea is already planning to include in its Olympics delegation, the agreement about the 140-member band makes it likely the North’s delegation to the Pyeongchang Olympics will be larger than ever before.

Along with the Unhasu Orchestra and the Moranbong Band, the Samjiyon Band has reportedly received acclaim throughout North Korea for its flashy attire and stage presence since the late 2000s. Given Moranbong Band leader Hyun Song-wol’s attendance at the working-level meeting, some analysts expect that she will lead the band on its trip to South Korea.

Prior to this, North Korea sent its largest delegation to the South for the Asian Games that were held in Busan in the summer of 2002. This delegation totaled 650 individuals: 362 athletes and 288 cheerleaders. The Winter Olympics have fewer events than the Summer Olympics, and North Korea’s athletic contingent is bound to be small because few of them qualified to compete in the games. But if North Korea sends a similar number of cheerleaders as it has in the past, its total delegation – including the band, high-level officials, observers, the Taekwondo demonstration team and reporters – could be the largest North Korean delegation to ever visit the South.

The venues where the North Korean band is likely to perform are the Seoul Arts Center and the Gangneung Culture and Art Center. Since the North has agreed to soon send a preliminary site inspection team to check on the concert facilities and their surroundings, North Korean staff charged with arranging the details of the band’s performance and inspecting the lodgings for the athletes and cheerleaders seem likely to visit the South before the end of the month.

 North Korean director of the culture ministry’s art performance bureau (right)
North Korean director of the culture ministry’s art performance bureau (right)

By Jung In-hwan and Kim Mi-young, staff reporters

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

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