More Than Just Simple Fun: North Korean Karaoke in Pyongyang and Beyond

Abstract

In August 2017, the North Korean Ministry of People’s Security released a statement condemning the performance of ‘illegal’ karaoke in Pyongyang, warning citizens of “severe punishment to those who violate the socialist way of living.” Informed by participant observation in Pyongyang in July 2016 and July 2017, and interviews conducted with North Koreans in Pyongyang and Seoul in 2018, this article details the precarious position karaoke has occupied in North Korean society since its introduction in the early 1990s, examining it not only as a popular form of entertainment by which North Koreans ‘perform’ and ‘promote’ the nation to domestic and foreign audiences, but also resist it. Karaoke is a tool of diplomacy and identity construction, both within and outside North Korea, and this article will assess the threat that this popular leisure activity is seen to pose to the regime as more North Koreans have access to ‘illegal’ karaoke equipment.