[imText1]North Korea revealed that with the arrival of President Roh, they changed the story and the expression partially while keeping the main fundamental ideology and the story plot.
The Preparation Organization Director of Arirang, Kim Keum Ryong said to the TongIl (unification) Shinbo, which is a weekly of North Korea, that, “The seed (fundamental ideology) and the basic structure plot of the performance is the same whereas the expression and the partial plot is changed to a different direction and things that needed to be changed was changed.”
Arirang is a performance of 1 hour and 30 minutes. It is a story about foundation of a new nation through the battle against Japanese colonialism and it contains story that praises the glory of the regime and the military-first politics.
The Rodong Shinmun, a North Korean state media said that on 24th of September that, “It expresses and indoctrinates to the viewers the spirit of Kim Il Sung People Superiority and teaches what kind of nation that Chosun (North Korea) is and what kind of people that this country is and there is no other piece of art that can be compared to Arirang’s ideological and artistic power and emotional influence.”
Kim emphasized that Arirang was partially revised due to the Inter-Korea Summit. He said, “Last time the Second chapter Sixth part was called National Army and it was a scene that portrayed the power and extent of national army but this time, we replaced that scene with Taekwondo which expressed the sincerity and power of our people.”
The eliminated scene includes the scene where the People’s Army is performing bayonet drill while soldiers in parachutes come down with a rope and stumbles over the parachute and fights. It was eliminated because the fighting partner symbolized U.S. and South Korean solider which Kim Jong Il was personally afraid of the political ramifications.
Furthermore, Director Kim said, “Since the June 15 Joint Statement, there was an emphasis on “Uriminzokkiri (being ‘Amongst Our Nation’)” which was portrayed in the subscripts of the Unified Arirang. ”
Director Kim said, “There was a new method shown by Kim Jong Il where he taught us to adjust the content and expression of the ideas accordingly to the changing era’s expectations.”
The Minister of the Unification, Lee Jae Jung said on the 30th that, “The preparation team from South Korea for the Summit watched the main scene and the ending scene of Arirang performance at the May 1st Stadium on the 29th of September without the middle scenes. As a result of viewing the performance, it was reported that there was no sensitive issues like the North Korean missile launch or the nuclear weapons, but rather it was very peaceful and serious. ”
However, Minister Lee held his tongue in regards the issue of the child abuse in the Arirang performance.
