''The Song of Mount Kumgang'' () is a
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
n
revolutionary opera.
First performed in 1973, it is credited to
Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim ...
.
The performance is considered one of the "Five Great Revolutionary Operas", a group of classical, revolution-themed opera repertoires well received within North Korea.
[가극 작품]
– NK Chosun[2008年03月26日]
杭州大剧院春季演出季－朝鲜歌剧《卖花姑娘》
– 浙江在线新闻网
The orchestra uses entirely
Western musical instruments, except for some
bamboo wind instruments
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, but ...
.
Plot
A family is separated during Japanese rule and reunite twenty years later, living a joyful life under the new communist system.
Reception
According to the DPRK description, "The opera represents the transformation of the mountain area, once worthless under the Japanese oppression, into the people's paradise through the portrayal of the local girls' joyful life and the hero Hwang's personal experience".
See also
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Culture of North Korea
The contemporary culture of North Korea is based on traditional Korean culture, but has developed since the division of Korea in 1945. ''Juche'' ideology formed by Kim Il-sung (1948–1994) asserts Korea's cultural distinctiveness and creativity ...
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North Korean literature
Reading is a popular pastime in North Korea, where literacy and books enjoy a high cultural standing, elevated by the regime's efforts to disseminate propaganda as texts. Because of this, writers are held in high prestige.
The partition of ...
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Korea under Japanese rule
Between 1910 and 1945, Korea was ruled as a part of the Empire of Japan. Joseon Korea had come into the Japanese sphere of influence with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876; a complex coalition of the Meiji government, military, and business offic ...
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Korean People's Army
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Divided families in Korea
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Song of Mount Kumgang
1973 operas
Korean-language operas
Opera in North Korea
Operas set in the 20th century
Films set in Korea under Japanese rule
Films about the Korean People's Army
Films about the Korean independence movement