K-pop v Kim-pop: Battle of the bands, Korean style
K-pop girlband Red Velvet will star in a historic concert in Pyongyang this weekend. How do they compare to North Korea’s Moranbong?
Top K-pop girlband Red Velvet will star in a historic concert in Pyongyang this weekend, in a country where entertainment is usually served with a big dollop of state-sponsored propaganda.
With performances on Sunday and Tuesday, the outfit will sashay onto territory normally occupied by North Korean’s own mega girl group, the Moranbong band.
In the peninsula’s own Battle of the Bands, here’s how the two match up:
K-pop or Kim-pop
Red Velvet: Upbeat electro, disco, R&B and syrupy ballads. Hits include Ice Cream Cake and Peek-A-Boo. Lyrics mostly deal with romance and heartbreak, although Red Flavour is a paean to the delights of strawberries and summer.
Sample lyric: “Follow me like you’re under a spell/Everyone’s cheering, soon you’ll be Ooh ooh”.
Moranbong: Fast-paced patriotic pop, mostly lauding Kim Jong-un or socialist ideals. Synthesisers, electric guitars and violins combine for hits including Mother’s Birthday – about the ruling party – and We Call Him Our Father, but they occasionally bust out a Korean language version of My Way.