Juche philosophy, the reigning ideology of North Korea, has governed the country for over half a century. All realms, including politics, economy, society and culture, in North Korea are ruled by Juche philosophy. North Korean music has also been strongly influenced by the philosophy. It is regarded as a perfect tool to indoctrinate the philosophy to the public. This study aims to interrogate how North Korean music has been transformed under Juche philosophy and the perception of the North Korean governors about music, by examining the political platforms and rules set by the North Korean government for musicians and music associations and the specific features in the music that can be identified as being influenced by the Juche philosophy. Although the dissertation restates much of the existing research on the topic, it is one of the first academic works that provides with the detailed analysis on North Korean music (specifically the Moranbong band) of the current Kim regime. The Revolutionary Opera Sea of Blood and the Moranbong band embody Juche philosophy. Sea of Blood is one of the most representative musical pieces created during the Il-Sung Kim and Jung-Il Kim regimes. The opera contains an anti-Japanese plot and emphasises the autonomous (Juche) spirit and socialism. The Moranbong band has played the role of spokesman for the Jung-Eun Kim regime. All the reaction of the North Korean government against internal and external political issues is shown in concerts of the band. It is no exaggeration to say that all the arias and songs performed in the opera and the band concerts contain political messages. In this dissertation, the musical structure and characteristics of the opera and the band are thoroughly analysed to illustrate the relationship between North Korean music and Juche philosophy. / Dissertation (MMus)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Music / MMus / Unrestricted

North Korea, throughout its history, has had four representative pop music bands that frequently appear on broadcast media to propagate Juche philosophy and represent the political stance of the government: the Bochonbo electronic band, the Wangjaesan light music band, the Moranbong band, and the Chongbong band. The first two were formed during the Il-Sung-Kim regime and gained popularity during the Jung-Il-Kim regime; and the latter two are representative of the Jung-Eun-Kim regime. These bands always appeared at special occasions of North Korea and are used as mouthpieces for the government and the supreme leaders. This study explores the characteristics of North Korean pop music in conjunction with political implications by examining performances of these representative four bands. The aims are to interrogate how pop music in that country has been presented under governmental control, to ascertain what perception the North Korean governors have about pop music, and to delineate specific features in the music that can be identified as political. Certain aspects of the current Jung-Eun-Kim regime and its pop music are appearing for the first time in an academic context and existing research on the earlier regimes of Il-Sung Kim and Jung-Il Kim are posited in relation to this. The genesis of the Wangjaesan light music band and the Bochonbo electronic music band is closely connected to Jung-Il Kim’s directive that North Korean music had to be modernised. The Wangjaesan band concentrated more on traditional music, while the Bochonbo band did on modern trends and life songs. Their performances provide evidence of an un-detachable relationship with Jung-Il Kim’s politics and his perspective on music, “artistry without ideology is worthless”. The Moranbong band and the Chongbong band were formed by Jung Eun Kim himself and they can be regarded as symbolic musical groups of his regime. Demonstrating the earlier Juche ideas of the previous regimes by performing older songs from that era, the bands also illustrate new ideologies of the current regime. It would seem that none of their music was created purely for the artistic and cultural demand of the public. The political use of the bands has been totally intentional since their formation. / Thesis (DMus)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Music / DMus / Unrestricted