The Rise and Fall of the Unhasu Orchestra
Korhonen, P., & Koidl, W. (2018). The Rise and Fall of the Unhasu Orchestra. European Journal of Korean Studies, 18(1), 63-96. https://doi.org/10.33526/ejks.20181801.63
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European Journal of Korean StudiesDate
2018Copyright
© British Association for Korean Studies, 2018
The Ŭnhasu Orchestra was a major North Korean ensemble in 2009-2013. It was established by Kim
Jong Il [Kim Chŏngil] and was composed of young musicians and singers of both genders, several of
them having studied in foreign higher educational institutions in countries like Austria, Italy, Russia and
China. Its members represented the core class of the North Korean society. It was ostensibly meant to
display the high quality of North Korean art and engage at this level also in international cultural
diplomacy, both in terms of physical visits, and in terms of DVD and internet publishing. In addition
to domestic concerts, the Ŭnhasu Orchestra performed with visiting Russian artists, and gave a concert
in Paris in 2012. Ŭnhasu Orchestra exemplifies also the problems with regime transition in North
Korea. It was so closely tied with the Kim Chŏngil regime that the change at the end of 2011 to the
Kim Jong Un [Kim Chŏngŭn] regime did not proceed altogether smoothly. In August 2013 it was
disbanded rather abruptly, causing an international uproar, and signalling the beginning of a wave of
other purges leading up to the highest leadership levels. The article attempts to shed light on the nature
of the Orchestra as a North Korean cultural phenomenon and the reasons for its sudden ending, trying
to dispel some of the disinformation surrounding the event.
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