The operatic arts in one form or another, have been around since the 16th Century with Jacopo Perie "Lost Define" being the first example of an opera. At the time of the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912), the Peking Opera emerged on the scene. In the past, Korea had a long history of dramatical music in the form of Changuk. As a fan of opera, my favourite ones are the works of Giacomo Puccini and George Bizet, with a foreway into Wagner on occasions. I came across modern Korean opera when I visited the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and went to operatic performances in Pyongyang and purchased many CDs and DVDs of that genre.
I was enthralled by the innovative quality and accessibility of the Korean revolutionary operas. These operatic productions provide for the viewer and listener a graphic illustration of modern Korean history and of the ideological durability of the Juche Idea. The operas composed in the DPRK presents a clear social-political message which is packaged in an entertaining manner. The most remarkable successes achieved by Socialist Korea in the sector of culture under the leadership of Kim Jong IL. It was in September 1969 that Kim Jong IL put forward the policy of bringing about a revolution in the art of opera aimed at doing away with obsolete patterns in this genre. Kim Jong IL set as the main task of the revolution in the art of opera to make operatic creations contemporary and popular on the basis of its revolutionary content and national form. The presentation of several new principles of producing operas of a Korean style, performing the songs in a stanzaic way introducing "Panchang" (off-stage chorus) ensures that the dancing was appropriate to the drama and brought a three-dimensional revolving stage with the development of the plot.
Kim Jong IL gave a talk to creative workers in the fields of art and literature in September 1974. This later became known as the work "On The Art of Opera". In this work by Kim Jong IL there are chapters on "The Times & Opera", "Opera Music" and "Opera Stage Presentation". "On The Art of Opera" can be regarded as a textbook for gaining artistic and ideological guidance in the performing arts and make opera serve as a means in the goal of human emancipation. Kim Jong IL gave many talks and wrote many essays on the subject of operas and musical performances over the course of many decades.
The Juche perspective on culture is to view this area of creative endeavour as being a vital one. Without a socialist culture as an important manifestation of ideological consciousness, there could not be genuine socialism. Kim Jong IL placed culture and the arts at the forefront in the struggle for moulding the socialist man and woman to become the independent and dignified subjects of history. In the USSR and the East European Socialist countries, the ideological impact of culture was believed to be of a secondary significance to the material base in society. This position taken by the ruling parties in the Soviet Union & Eastern Europe exposed areas of cultural life to the machinations of the imperialists and their agents, thus resulting in the downfall of those socialist societies in the late 1980s-early 1990s.
Kim Jong IL saw to it that a prototype opera was produced by adopting the revolutionary drama "The Sea of Blood" created by Kim IL Sung during the Anti-Japanese Revolutionary Struggle (1925-1945). Five major operas were inaugurated into compositions by Kim Jong IL in the early 1970s. These model operas were "The Sea of Blood", "A True Daughter of The Party", "Song of Mount Kumgang-san", "The Flower Girl", and "Tell, Oh Forest". These operas became known as the "Pibada" (Sea of Blood) style performances. There were less known revolutionary operas which came on the stage at that time (the 1970s) such as "Women of Namgang Village", "The Youth Orchard", "One Summer On The Tuman-Gang River", "Song of Paradise", "Under The Grateful Sun" and We Shall Meet Again On The Reunification Square".
My two best-loved DPRK operas are "The Sea of Blood'' and "The True Daughter of The Party". These two operas give a vivid illustration of the epic fight of the Korean people for national and social liberation. "The Sea of Blood'' is based upon the trials and tribulations of Ggot Bun, the heroine of this opera, in 1930s Japanese occupied Korea. Ggot Bun becomes more and more politicized and takes the path of revolutionary struggle. The 1971 produced opera "The True Daughter of The Party" centres around Korean People's Army Nurse Kang Yon Ok while fighting in the Korean War (1950-53). The main character Kang Yon Ok with her evacuated patients overcomes the US aggressors and the south Korean puppet troops and attains her desire to be a member of the Workers' Party of Korea. Kang Yon Ok. The heroine of "The True Daughter of The Party'' is killed by a US air raid while getting her wounded comrades to safety. The melody "Where Are You, Dear General?", elucidates the inner world outlook of Kang Yon Ok and this song can be heard throughout the DPRK very often. Two ultimate "feel good" operatic productions from Peoples Korea must be "Song Of The Kumgang-san Mountains" and "Song Of Paradise" Both these operas evokes to the audience the joy of living in the blissful land of Juche under the loving care of the Leader and the Party.
Over the years I have been able to accumulate the CDs and DVDs of various DPRK operas by the renowned Mansudae Art Troupe and the Samjiyon Orchestra. I have fortunate enough to have witnessed such gala performances as the" 70 Glorious Years of the Republic'' held in the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium on September 8th, 2018. Actually, in 1973 the Mansudae Art Troupe staged concerts at The Sadler's Wells Theatre in London, which caused a sensation among the public at the time. There should be more cultural exchanges and cooperation between the United Kingdom and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. A return visit to Great Britain by the Mansudae Art Troupe is long overdue!!
The international art community has enthusiastically acclaimed DPRK operas as a culmination of aesthetic technique and expertise. An Austrian Operatic Connoisseur Doctor Gustav Schwartz stated although Milan, Rome and Vienna were considered to be the centres of operatic creation, that in this day and age Pyongyang is the new capital city of opera and classical music. Interest in the performing arts of the DPRK is growing to the point where the School Of Asian & African Studies, University of London held a seminar on "Sea of Blood: A Night At the North Korean Opera", a few years ago.
In the DPRK we have seen the flowering of a renaissance over the course of six decades in culture and arts. This tradition is carried on by Kim Jong Un in all aspects of culture in Peoples Korea. The overwhelming narrative of DPRK opera is to promote the values of chajusong (Independence) of the working masses and to uphold the dignity of man, the social being. The arts and music of the DPRK raise the treasure house of humanity's collective culture to new heights. If you have not seen a Korean Revolutionary Opera yet, please take the opportunity to do so!
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