The North Korean authorities are trying to stop people singing the theme song to a popular 1980s movie, Rimkkeujong, ‘Come Forward, Sworn Brothers’.
A source from Yangkang Province reported on the 18th, “In a people’s unit meeting on the 15th, a decree, ‘On not singing the Rimkkeujong theme song’ was handed down by the Propaganda Department of the Provincial Committee of the Party.”
The decree was met with a now-familiar reaction, the source added, “People treated it with contempt, saying, ‘there must be something bothering them.’”
Rimkkeujong is a five-part movie series produced in 1987 by Wangjaesan Art Institute of the Chosun Arts Movie Studio, based on a novel written by Hong Myung Hee, who went north after the liberation from Japan. It is about a righteous outlaw, Rimkkeujong, who organizes a guerilla group in a mountain village in the mid-1500s to fight against aristocrats, abolish a social class system and establish a fair society.
The movie used to get aired on Chosun Central TV quite often before 1997, the middle of the March of Tribulation. The reason why the movie was not shown after that is that the authorities began to worry about the possibility that it might inspire rioting over rapidly worsening conditions.
The recent measure is presumably a further move intended to lower the chances of a similar effect.
The Yangkang Province source who revealed the news said that the song, while old, is indeed very popular, saying, “People have recently been singing the song often on trains or at other events.”
This, he added, really is subversive, “It is a way of subtly complaining about society.”
Meanwhile, one defector in Seoul said that the movie is of quite a high quality, explaining, “Choi Chang Su (the leading actor) acted very well and the story and songs seem to depict the North Korean reality, so people loved it. Young people at that time must have been encouraged by the movie and song to overturn the world.”
Another defector agreed, saying, “When I heard or sang the song, I felt bitter and thought how well they expressed the thoughts of the people. Even now, I often sing the song when I think about North Korea.”
The following are the lyrics to, ‘Come Forward, Sworn Brothers’
1.
The people’s resentment filled Hades.
Bloody tears were shed for this unfair world.
Mountains and streams, without parents, wife and children taken away,
tell me how can I live in this world where people are exploited.
2.
Don’t look pessimistically at carrying a heavy burden,
let’s live looking forward to the way ahead.
Even under the stones along the road, heroes are buried.
If I make one mistake, I could disappear like dew.
3.
Sharpen a sword in the sheath,
I wish I plowed fields.
Come forward, sworn brothers, sweep away the evil throngs,
Let’s pay off the grudge in my heart.
