On the evening of April 13, Kim Jong-un, accompanied by North Korean officials, went to the East Pyongyang Grand Theater to watch a special concert by the mainland's Central Chinese Orchestra. At the end, Kim Jong-un also had a brief exchange with Sun Nan, who attended the concert, did the two know each other?
concert
That night, Kim Jong-un was the first to walk into the East Pyongyang Grand Theater in a black suit, followed by North Korean officials, including Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong, who sat on the edge but looked at Kim Jong-un from time to time, always caring about her brother Kim Jong-un.
Before Kim Jong-un arrived, the Grand Theater was already full, including not only North Korean officials, but also representatives from all walks of life in Pyongyang, as well as ambassadors of Russia and Vietnam to North Korea.
After Kim Jong-un entered the theater, everyone stood up, clapped at him, and watched as Kim Jong-un walked from the door to the arranged position. After Kim Jong-un sat down, the applause became even more enthusiastic, and it was not until Kim Jong-un signaled that everyone sat down again.
Kim Jong-un leaned slightly sideways to communicate with Sun Yeli, the mainland's minister of culture and tourism, who was sitting next to him, and the translator who often followed Kim Jong-un was translating for him.
The famous mainland singer Sun Nan sang "Red Flag Fluttering", and the bright five-star red flag was displayed on the big screen, and Kim Jong-un looked at Sun Nan with a smile in his eyes.
After the concert, Kim Jong-un shook hands with mainland Chinese orchestras and singers, and when he passed by Sun Nan, Kim Jong-un shook hands with him and chatted with him. Although I don't know exactly what they said, Kim Jong-un's expression shows that he is happy and has a very good impression of Sun Nan.
One of Kim Jong-un's favorite Chinese songs, "Red Flag Fluttering," sung by Sun Nan at the concert, was performed for the second time in Pyongyang. Kim Jong-un also bluntly said that he is a fan of Sun Nan.
When was the first time?
At the end of November 2018, Kim Jong-un watched the first joint performance of mainland and North Korean literary and art workers in Pyongyang. At that time, Sun Nan sang "Red Flag Fluttering" for the first time in Pyongyang, North Korea, which instantly moved Kim Jong-un.
In fact, Kim Jong-un has already heard "Red Flag Fluttering", and many singers and orchestras in North Korea have covered it, but there is always a little less charm. Now, as soon as the original singer Sun Nan raised his voice, he immediately captured the hearts of all the North Koreans present.
This time, the mainland Central Chinese Orchestra came to the DPRK to hold a concert, and Kim Jong-un once again heard the live version of Sun Nan's "Red Flag Fluttering" after many years, and he seemed very happy.
In addition to "Red Flag Fluttering", the mainland's Chinese orchestra also played the very Chinese flavor of "Liang Zhu", when the melody sounded, the story of the butterfly unfolded in front of people's eyes, and the story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai's love has also attracted North Koreans.
The mainland singers also sang the classic North Korean song "Pyongyang, I Love You", and after the singing, the audience burst into warm applause, Kim Jong-un smiled and applauded, and exchanged a few words with Sun Yeli, obviously very satisfied with the performance.
The last piece of the concert is "The Friendship between China and North Korea Forever", which reminds people of the days when China and North Korea fought side by side in the 50s of the last century.
"China-North Korea Friendship Forever" was originally called "Farewell to North Korea", which tells the scene when the volunteers evacuated North Korea and expresses the friendship between China and North Korea.
In addition to paying attention to the wonderful performance of the orchestra at this concert, there is another content worth paying attention to, what is it?
Friendship of the Chinese Dynasty
There are two signs on both sides of the stage, and there is a "75" in the middle of the two signs, what does this mean?
This logo is specially customized by the DPRK for the "China-DPRK Friendship Year", and "75" represents the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the DPRK. The logo features the Temple of Heaven representing China and the Arc de Triomphe of Pyongyang representing North Korea.
The only difference between the two logos at the concert is that on one side is the "China-Korea Friendship Year" written in Chinese and the other is written in Korean.
At that critical juncture, the leaders of the mainland decided to send troops to support the DPRK, and one million volunteers secretly entered the DPRK to fight to help the DPRK drive away the United States and South Korea and other aggressor countries, and forced the United States and South Korea and other countries to the negotiating table, thus safeguarding the interests of the DPRK and laying a solid foundation for the mainland's future peace situation.
According to statistics, more than 100,000 volunteers on the mainland died bravely on the Korean battlefield, and among them, Chairman Mao's son Mao Anying is also buried in the land of Korea. At that time, the North Korean leader also expressed his gratitude to China on several occasions.
For many years, the families of the martyrs of the mainland volunteers will go to North Korea to remember them, therefore, the DPRK has planned a "red tourism road", when the Chinese people travel to North Korea, most of them will choose to take this route to pay tribute to the martyrs of the volunteers who died on the battlefield in Korea.
Some Chinese people also visit some of the attractions in North Korea that are related to the mainland, such as the China-North Korea Friendship Tower, which was built to commemorate the great achievements of the volunteers.
The friendship between China and the DPRK has a solid foundation, and when the DPRK is sanctioned by the United States and other Western countries, the mainland will speak up for the DPRK in the international community.
Over the years, the mainland and the DPRK have exchanged and cooperated in the fields of culture, science and technology, and have developed hand in hand with the DPRK. In some respects, the mainland will strongly support North Korea.
For example, during the negotiations between Kim Jong-un and Trump, the mainland gave the DPRK great convenience, allowing Kim Jong-un's special trains and planes to pass through the mainland, ensuring Kim Jong-un's security to the greatest extent and providing assistance for the talks between the DPRK and the United States.
The development of friendship between the mainland and the DPRK has not been smooth sailing, and there have been moments of secret dislike, but fortunately, the leaders of China and the DPRK have chosen to trust each other, and have not widened the rift and looked for opportunities to shake hands and talk.
The friendship between the mainland and the DPRK has undergone severe tests, and the friendship between the two countries is indestructible.
2024 is the Year of Friendship between China and North Korea, and the concert of the Central Chinese Orchestra in North Korea mentioned above is one of the contents of this "Year of Friendship", and there are many more projects on the way.
In the future, China and the DPRK will continue to work hand in hand to strengthen cooperation in various fields, and more cooperation projects will be implemented, let's wait and see!
Resources:
[1] Phoenix.com, "Kim Jong-un Watches the Special Concert of the Central Chinese Orchestra of China", 20240414
[2] Huanqiu.com, "Kim Jong-un Loves to Listen to Chinese Songs<红旗飘飘>", 20120716