Spring is Coming

Spring is Coming (Korean: 봄이온다) was a concert that occurred in Pyongyang, North Korea, on April 1 and 3, 2018. It included numerous South Korean performers, and was described as an important event in the 2018 thaw in the North Korea–South Korea relations.[1]

Spring is Coming
Cultural diplomacy concert by Cho Yong-pil, Lee Sun-hee, Yoon Do-hyun, Baek Ji-young, Choi Jin-hee, Kang San-ae, Seohyun, Kim Kwang-min, YB, Red Velvet, Samjiyon Orchestra
LocationPyongyang, North Korea
VenueEast Pyongyang Grand Theatre, Ryugyong Jong Ju Yong Gymnasium
Date(s)April 1 and 3, 2018
No. of showsTwo
GuestsKim Jong-un, Ri Sol-ju
Supporting act(s)South Korean taekwondo artists

Background
North Korea's musical ensemble Samjiyon Orchestra had its second performance in Seoul, South Korea on February 11, 2018. On this night, K-pop girl group Girls' Generation member Seohyun surprised the audience by making an appearance on the stage.

The event has been described as the first South Korean musical performance in the North in "over a decade".[1] The previous South Korean performance in the North took place in 2005, with a solo concert by Cho Yong-pil.[1] The Spring is Coming concert was described as a "reciprocal cultural visit" after North Korea sent performers to the South.[1][2] In particular, North Korea's Samjiyon Orchestra gave several concerts coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics, including a concert in Seoul on February 11, attended by North Korean leader's sister Kim Yo-jong and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.[3]

The concert

The Spring is Coming concert took part over two days: April 1 (Sunday) and April 3 (Tuesday). The first day featured a 2 hour long concert at the East Pyongyang Grand Theatre which seats 1,500.[1][4] Performers included at least 11[4] South Korean singers and vocalists, including Cho Yong-pil, Lee Sun-hee, Yoon Do-hyun, Baek Ji-young, Kang San-ae, Seohyun, pianist Kim Kwang-min, five-member rock band YB, as well as five-member K-pop girl band Red Velvet (though one of Red Velvet band members, Joy, did not attend due to scheduling conflicts[5]).[1][4] The second day featured a joint performance between South and North Korean musicians at the Ryugyong Jong Ju Yong Gymnasium (12,000 seats), with the North side represented by the Samjiyon Orchestra.[4][5][6] Approximately 190 South Koreans (musicians, support staff and journalists) traveled to the North for the event.[4] In addition, South Korean taekwondo artists were to perform demonstrations on April 1 and 2, with the Sunday performance at the Pyongyang Taekwondo Hall drawing an audience of about 2,300.[4][7]

The concert on April 1 was attended by the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un and his wife, Ri Sol-ju.[1][6] Kim Jong-un was reported by media, including North Korean KCNA state news agency, and independent observers as enjoying himself, and praised the event himself.[1][6] He also stated that North Korean musicians may hold another reciprocal event in the South in a few months, tentatively titled "Autumn has Come".[8] Ordinary North Koreans may be persecuted for listening to foreign media without state permission; North Koreans caught watching South Korean movies, for example, face prison time.[1] Although South Korean journalists were specifically invited to cover the concert, they were prevented from doing so, though apologized to by North intelligence director Kim Yong-chol, who blamed "a breakdown in cooperation between Kim Jong Un's security detail and concert organisers".[1] The concerts have been seen as acts of cultural diplomacy.[9]

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gollark: ... I doubt it.
gollark: Proer gamer move: just encrypt it.
gollark: CDs have several gigabytes of data on them, and even raw scanner images are probably only tens of megabytes at most.
gollark: I'm sure they have some fancy data recovery technique for that. Just not scanners.

See also

References
  1. Kim, Christine. "North Korea's Kim Jong Un, wife, watch South Korean K-pop stars..." U.S. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
  2. "Kim Jong Un's closest aides made sure alcohol was flowing as South Korean singers partied in Pyongyang". Newsweek. 2018-04-06. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  3. "North Korea's Samjiyon Orchestra performs in Seoul". koreatimes. 2018-02-12. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  4. "South Korean concerts in Pyongyang set for April 1 and 3". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  5. koreaportal (2018-04-02). "Red Velvet's Joy Absence In North Korea's 'Spring is Coming' Concert Explained, Netizens Slam Joy For Missing The Historic Event". koreaportal. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  6. "South Korea musicians return after rare Pyongyang joint concert". The Japan Times Online. 2018-04-04. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  7. Seoul, Reuters in (2018-04-01). "South Korean K-pop stars perform for Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  8. Dong-man, Han. "Spring is coming to the Korean Peninsula". Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  9. Smith, Nicola (1 April 2018). "North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attends 'K-pop' conference". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
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