“Where there’s a revolution, there are songs”

e anti-Japanese struggle era to the latest propaganda tunes.

“All music in North Korea serves regime propaganda, so it doesn’t really matter who picks the songs,” the source noted. “But having the party cell secretary make the selections is considered ‘party policy’ – a rule that can’t be broken.”

The provincial authorities have made clear that these sessions aim to instill loyalty to the party, leader, and revolutionary spirit by having citizens memorize the lyrics. Workplaces are required to organize regular question-and-answer sessions about the songs, forcing employees to rehearse repeatedly until they’ve memorized all the words….

North Korea has long used music as a key tool for promoting official ideology and regime cohesion. Since founder Kim Il Sung’s era, songs have been used to cultivate public loyalty under the slogan “Where there’s a revolution, there are songs” – a practice that continued through Kim Jong Il’s and Kim Jong Un’s leadership.

Yet as economic conditions worsen and people struggle to feed their families, these propaganda songs have lost their effectiveness.

“Songs might have worked for ideological control in the past, but now, as people face harsher realities, they ignore them no matter how much they’re forced to sing,” the source said. “Plus, with more outside information getting in, people are less influenced by propaganda.”

“People openly say that singing songs won’t make rice appear or improve their lives when they can barely make ends meet,” the source added. “Ultimately, this coercive approach of forcing people to memorize and sing songs will only increase public distrust of the regime.”

Let's hope so.