Hyon Song-wol
Hyon Song-wol at the National Theatre on 11 February 2018 in Seoul, South Korea
Background information
Born1977 (age 46–47)
North Korea
Occupation(s)Singer and politician
LabelsMoranbong Band, Samjiyon Orchestra, Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble
Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl
현송월
Hancha
玄松月
Revised RomanizationHyeon Song-wol
McCune–ReischauerHyŏn Song-wŏl

Hyon Song-wol (Korean: 현송월; born 1977[1]) is a North Korean singer, band leader, and politician. She is the leader of the Moranbong Band and of the Samjiyon Orchestra. She was formerly a featured vocalist for the Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble in the early 2000s,[2] a pop group which found fame in North Korea in the late 1980s and 1990s. She has been a member in the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea since 2017.

Early career

Hyon was a vocalist for the Wangjaesan Light Music Band and Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble. Her biggest hit was the song "Excellent Horse-like Lady",[lower-alpha 1] a 1999 song extolling the virtues of a Stakhanovite textile factory worker. The accompanying music video stars Hyon in the role of "the heroine, dashing around a sparkling factory with a beatific smile, distributing bobbins and collecting swatches of cloth at top speed."[2] The lyrics include:

Our factory comrades say in jest,
Why, they tell me I am a virgin on a stallion,
After a full day's work I still have energy left...

They say I am a virgin on a stallion,
Mounting a stallion my Dear Leader gave me.
All my life I will live to uphold his name![3]

Hyon's other best known songs include, "Footsteps of Soldiers", "I Love Pyongyang", "She is a Discharged Soldier" and "We are Troops of the Party".[3]

Marriage and rumors of involvement with Kim Jong-un

Hyon disappeared from public view in 2006 when, according to reports in the Japanese media, she married a North Korean army officer with whom she had a child.[3] She was reported to have known Kim Jong-un, the youngest son of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, since they were both teenagers. South Korean government sources told the media that Hyon and Kim Jong-un had been romantically involved in the early 2000s after he returned to North Korea from his studies at a public school in Switzerland. His father reportedly disapproved of the relationship and the younger Kim and Hyon broke it off.[4]

Following Kim Jong-il's death in December 2011, Kim Jong-un was thought to have resumed the relationship. According to South Korean intelligence sources, "rumors about the two having an affair have been circulating among Pyongyang's top elite".[4]

In early July 2012, public interest in Kim Jong-Un's personal life increased when Korean Central Television, North Korea's state-run media station, released footage of Kim sitting next to a then-unidentified woman who frequently appeared with him in public events. South Korean intelligence officials initially identified the woman as Hyon.[5] However, on 25 July 2012, North Korean media announced that the woman was Ri Sol-ju.[6]

On 16 November 2023, The Korea Times published an article in which Choe Su-yong, a former official at the National Intelligence Service (NIS), alleges that Hyon is the mother of Kim Jong-Un's eldest child. Choe also alleges that this child is a son known as Il-bong.[7]

Execution rumor

On 29 August 2013, South Korean newspaper The Chosun Ilbo reported that Hyon had been executed by firing squad on the orders of Kim Jong-un along with eleven other performers, including violinist Mun Kyong-jin, both of whom had allegedly made illegal pornographic videos.[8][9] According to a source quoted by the newspaper, "They were executed with machine guns while the key members of the Unhasu Orchestra, the Wangjaesan Light Music Band and the Moranbong Band as well as the families of the victims looked on".[8][10]

Pyongyang's state news agency KCNA denied claims that the singer was executed, and a Japanese news magazine reported that she was seen subsequently.[11]

On 16 May 2014, Hyon appeared on North Korean television participating in the National Convention of Artists. However, some theorize that the government may have used an older video to make it seem as though she were still alive. [9][12][13][14]

Later career

Hyon is the leader of the Moranbong Band and of the Samjiyon Orchestra.[15]

In December 2015, Hyon travelled to Beijing to perform with the Moranbong Band in a series of private concerts.[16]

In 2017, she was appointed to the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.[17] She participated in talks with South Korea to prepare for North Korea's participation in the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.[18] During the Games, she organized concerts by North Korean performers.[19]

Hyon's visibility in North Korean politics increased in 2020, when she made multiple appearances, including her inspection of typhoon-ravaged areas with Kim Jong-Un, in their country.[20] She was re-elected to the Central Committee at the 8th Congress of the WPK. [17]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Korean: 준마처녀; Hanja: 駿馬處女; RR: Junma Cheo'nyeo; MR: Chunma Ch'ŏnyŏ

References

  1. ↑ Choi, Kyung-woon (31 January 2018). "NIS Pins Down Age of N.Korean Bandleader". NK Chosun. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  2. 1 2 Popham, Peter (11 July 2012). "Is Kim Jong-un's mystery woman a long-lost love?". The Independent. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 "Is Kim Jong Un's Mystery Woman The 'Excellent Horse-Like Lady'?". NPR. 10 July 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  4. 1 2 Lee, Young-jong (9 July 2012). "Is Hyon the new first lady of NK?". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  5. ↑ "Is Hyon the new first lady of NK?". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. 8 July 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  6. ↑ "N.Korea Confirms Mystery Woman Is Kim Jong-un's Wife". english.chosun.com. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  7. ↑ "North Korean leader's daughter known by wrong name: expert". koreatimes.co.kr. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  8. 1 2 "Kim Jong-un's Ex-Girlfriend 'Shot by Firing Squad'". The Chosun Ilbo. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  9. 1 2 "North Korean singer rumoured to have been executed appears on TV". Agence France-Presse via The Guardian website. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Kim Jong Un's Ex-Lover Hyon Song-Wol 'Executed By North Korean Firing Squad After Making Sex Tape'". Huffingtonpost.co.uk. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  11. ↑ Tania Branigan in Beijing and Justin McCurry in Tokyo (23 September 2013). "North Korea criticises 'reptile media' for saying Kim Jong-un ordered executions | World news". theguardian.com. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  12. ↑ "Executed singer alive and well, Pyongyang TV shows — The West Australian". Au.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  13. ↑ "North Korean singer "executed by firing squad" shows up alive and well in Pyongyang | NK News — North Korea News". Nk News - North Korea News. NK News. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  14. ↑ Terrence McCoy (19 May 2014). "Another good Kim Jong Un story dies as 'executed' girlfriend lives". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  15. ↑ Qin, Amy (8 February 2018). "North Korean Orchestra Gives an Emotional Concert in the South". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  16. ↑ "N. Korean band leader appears in China after execution rumors". 11 December 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  17. 1 2 "Choe Ryong-hae elected to N.K. ruling party's central military commission". Yonhap. 8 October 2017.
  18. ↑ "Leader of all-female N.K. band appears as delegate to inter-Korean talks". Yonhap. 15 January 2018. Archived from the original on 13 November 2018.
  19. ↑ "Kim Jong-un meets North Korean orchestra that performed at Winter Olympics". EFE. 13 February 2018.
  20. ↑ Shim, Elizabeth (14 September 2020). "North Korea musician Hyon Song Wol more visible amid typhoon, pandemic". UPI.
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