Legendary N. Korean folk singer dies
By Yi Whan-woo
Kim Kwang-suk
Kim Kwang-suk, a well-known North Korean folk singer in the 1980s and 1990s and an early member of a performance art troupe beloved by the late Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il, died last week, according to Pyongyang’s state-controlled Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The KNCA said Kim, formerly a vocalist for Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble, died at age 54. It did not give details on the cause of her death.
“Our respected Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un sent a wreath to Kim Kwang-suk’s bier and paid tribute to her,” the KNCA said.
The ensemble was named after a battle fought between Japan and anti-Japanese guerilla group led by Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-un’s late grandfather and the country’s founder, in 1937.
Kim was among the elite musicians who performed in the ensemble. Formed in 1985, it included Hyon Song-wol, the leader of Kim Jong-un’s favorite girl band, the Morangbong Band, who joined the inter-Korean talks on Jan. 15 for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
The decades-old ensemble purportedly inspired the Morangbong Band, whose members were hand-picked by Kim Jong-un in 2012.
Kim showed off her artistic talent from a young age, according to sources familiar with North Korea.
As a high school student in 1983, she performed in Japan as a member of Pyongyang Children Art Troupe, a group of students talented in singing and playing various musical instruments, such as piano, synthesizer, electric organ, guitar, bass guitar and drums.
In 1986, Kim joined the Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble, which was believed to be Kim Jong-il’s all-time favorite pop band.
Her best-known songs include “What Is Life?” “White Dove,” “Fruit Trees Planted on Hills,” “The Dear Name Kim Jong-il,” “My Dear Is a Hero Now” and “Where Are You, Dear General?” She is also known for her cover of “Million Alyh Roz,” a Russian folk song, and “L’Amour Est Bleu,” a classic French song.
She received the Merited Artiste award in 1988 and the People’s Artiste award, the highest honor given to North Korean artists, in 1992.
After quitting the ensemble, she became a vocal instructor at the Pyongyang Schoolchildren’s Palace.
She remained a popular singer in the dictatorial regime even after her retirement, according to North Korean defectors in South Korea.