In the wake of North Korean girl group
‘Moranbong’’s pullout from a performance in China, evidence has emerged that
the band’s leader Hyon Song Wol is not Kim Jong Un’s former flame, but was
actually his father’s mistress.
In a telephone call with the Daily NK on
December 24th, an inside source from South Pyongan Province said, “We have
confirmation from numerous high-level cadres. Around 2005, Hyon Song Wol
performed a riveting performance of the song “Junma Cheonyeo” [Excellent,
Horse-like Lady or Well-Bred Horse Maiden] as a member of the Pochonbo
Electronic Ensemble. Numerous Party cadres have confirmed that after being
captivated by the sultry songstress, Kim Jong Il took Hyon Song Wol as his last
paramour.”
A source in the same province as well as an
informant in North Pyongan Province substantiated these claims.
From these sources, he asserted, “there is
no evidence to support the assertion that the globetrotting singer was Kim Jong
Un’s first girlfriend.” The cadres agree that around the year 2000, “Kim Jong Il
began his relationship with Hyon Song Wol in some form.”
It is said that Kim Jong Il built the
Mansudae Performing Art Theater in Pyongyang in order to honor his former lover
and Mansudae Art Troupe dancer/actor Ko Young Hee. After Ko Young Hee passed
away, Kim Jong Il diverted his amorous attentions to Hyon Song Wol. He
installed Hyon Song Wol’s Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble in the Mansudae
Performing Art Theater and moved the Mansudae Art Troupe to East Pyongyang
Grand Theater.
“At the height of its popularity in 2008,
Hyon Song Wol was set to perform ‘Excellent, Horse-like Lady,’ at North Korea’s
Foundation Day 60th Anniversary celebration at the Arirang Theater. While
rehearsing, Kim Jong Il personally instructed his workers to add more emphasis
in the background card section to ensure that “Excellent, Horse-like Lady,”
really stood out. This was reportedly Kim Jong Il’s birthday gift to her,” the
source explained.
“Of course Pyongyang cadres were whispering
about the relationship, but even senior officials in the countryside were taken
aback by the singer being featured on the background cards at the Foundation
Day celebrations. They said that a line had been crossed. The fact that the
band wears the epaulets of a colonel is said to be due to Kim Jong Il’s deep
involvement.”
The source wondered aloud, “If Hyon Song
Wol was really Kim Jong Un’s former lover, don’t you think he would have
transferred her to another band when his affections heated up for Ri Sol Ju?
The fact that Hyon Song Wol remains as the band’s leader is testament to the
fact that she was not Kim Jong Un’s former lover, but his father’s.”
The Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble added a
number of superior singers to their ranks in later years, but Kim Jong Il
issued an order for Chosun Central TV to continually air the songs that
featured Hyon Song Wol, including “Excellent, Horse-like Lady,” “Whistling
Bachelor,” and “The Future is Beautiful.”
This extra attention had much to do with
the singer’s rise to stardom. “Even today when Hyon Song Wol appears on
television, cadres with the Central Party and ordinary residents alike refer to
her as ‘The General’s (Kim Jong Il) girlfriend,’” he noted.
“At this point, there is very little to
support the theory that she was Kim Jong Un’s first lover. Anyone suggesting as
much is revealing that they don’t actually know very much about Kim Jong Il’s
relationship history.”
