close
Korth Korean leader Kim Jong Un views a simulated nuclear counter attack drill. (Credit: Associated Press)
A song that praises North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un has gone viral on TikTok.
“Let’s sing Kim Jong-un, the great leader,” the song called “Friendly Father” says, according to BBC News. “Let’s brag about Kim Jong Un, our friendly father.”
“Is this a single or where can I get the whole album,” one TikToker joked while another said, “It’s so dystopian in the catchiest way.”
“I don’t really like Kim Jong Un but he was really cooking on this song,” another said.
KIM JONG-UN PROMISES ‘DEATH BLOW’ TO POTENTIAL ENEMIES, IGNORES BIDEN’S REQUEST FOR COOPERATION
North Korea’s new song “Friendly Father” about Kim Jong-Un has gone viral on TikTok. (API/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
South Korean-pop, or K-pop, and Western music are banned inside North Korea, and some defectors have cited illegally listening to outside music as a factor in their decision to defect.
“When you listen to North Korean music, you have no emotions,” North Korean defector Ryu Hee-Jin told the Washington Post in 2019. “But when you listen to American or South Korean music, it literally gives you the chills. The lyrics are so fresh, so relatable. When kids listen to this music, their facial expressions just change.”
NORTH KOREA’S KIM PUTS WEST ON NOTICE BY OPERATING ‘WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL’ TANK DURING LIVE FIRE EXERCISES
Of “Friendly Father,” Peter Moody a North Korea expert at Korea University told BBC News, “The song has Abba written all over it. It’s upbeat, it could not be more catchy, and a rich set of orchestral-sounding sequences could not be more prominent.”
Some North Korean defectors have cited listening to K-pop music like the group BTS as helping them decide to defect. (Han Myung-Gu/WireImage)
Alexandra Leonzini, of Cambridge University, told the outlet that North Korean authorities would have sought to make an “earworm” song with simple lyrics that’s easy to sing.
“All artistic output in North Korea must serve the class education of citizens and more specifically educate them as to why they should feel a sense of gratitude, a sense of loyalty to the party,” she said.
Defectors have said that the government plays propaganda songs every morning throughout the country, citizens are taught choreographed dances to the songs and the lyrics are printed in newspapers. (KCNA via REUTERS)
Defectors have said that the government plays propaganda songs every morning throughout the country, citizens are taught choreographed dances to the songs and the lyrics are printed in newspapers.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“By the time the song has sort of been taken into the body, it’s become part of the person,” Keith Howard, a professor at the London School of African and Oriental Studies, said. “So they know the lyrics so well, even if they’re just doing the actions, even if they’re just listening to it. A good ideological song does that – it needs to embed the message.”
close Video Too early to rule anything out in missing student case, sheriff says Loudoun…
close Video Virginia college student missing in Dominican Republic Officials believe 20-year-old Sudiksha Konanki drowned…
close Video Fox News Flash top headlines for March 11 Fox News Flash top headlines…
close Video Fox News Flash top headlines for March 11 Fox News Flash top headlines…
close Video Fox News Flash top headlines for March 11 Fox News Flash top headlines…
President Donald Trump announced his nomination of Michael George DeSombre to serve as the next…