A propaganda song and video clip called “Friendly Father” and praising North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Un has gone viral in Western social media.
The tune has gone viral online but most are quite oblivious to the Korean lyrics praising a man who’s vowed to “thoroughly annihilate the US” and launched dozens of ballistic missiles.
The accompanying music video, dropped on the North Korean public by its state-controlled media two weeks ago, features dozens of seemingly ecstatic residents of all ages belting out catchy lines such as: “May this night never end, dear beautiful night of Pyongyang. The people believe and follow him with one heart! Let’s boast of Kim Jong Un, a friendly father!”
Kim, wearing a black leather jacket, was pictured arriving at the ceremony in an armored limousine believed to have been gifted to him by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The video, featuring cheering soldiers, beaming children, amped-up pop singers and an ecstatic marching band, was professionally shot and edited. Analysts say it’s part of a push to recreate and reenergize the leadership cult around Kim, whose family has ruled over North Korea since the country’s founding in 1948.
North Korea video “needs a Grammy”
“Friendly Father” is just the latest in a line of propaganda pop songs churned out by the Communist state in the past 50 years. It’s peppy, bright-tempo and dangerously catchy – not that much different from Western pop hits, the BBC notes.
The song was also performed live at a lavish event, clips of which were aired by North Korean state TV, to mark the opening of a new apartment complex said to contain 10,000 homes in the capital, Pyongyang.
It’s just a great tune, TikTokkers say. “Taylor Swift was not expecting to get blown out of the water right after dropping her new album,” one fan joked online.
“Wait, this slaps”, “This song needs a Grammy”, and “It’s so dystopian in the catchiest way” – they are just some of the enthused comments under TikTok videos.
“The woman’s voice is amazing. almost like her life depends on it!”, a user remarked on YouTube.
But there is a certain Soviet-era tinge to it; Gen Z users describe it as “Abba-coded”, a reference to the Swedish superband.
“In this case, the song has Abba written all over it,“ says Peter Moody, a North Korea analyst at Korea University. “It’s upbeat, it could not be more catchy, and a rich set of orchestral-sounding sequences could not be more prominent,” he says.
Kim referred to as “the Great” and “Father”
It’s not the first song dedicated to Kim. But there’s a noticeable departure in the language and vocabulary used, the BBC says.
He is being referred to as “father” and “the Great” – terms previously reserved for North Korea’s first leader, his grandfather Kim Il Sung.
Kim was called the “Great Successor” when he took over the mantle in 2012 after his father Kim Jong Il’s passing. However, more than a decade on, analysts think this may be a sign that he is shoring up his image as North Korea’s “Supreme Leader”.
In recent times, he’s also replaced the lyrics in another propaganda song, switching out “our father Kim Il Sung” to “our father Kim Jong Un”.
Related: Greek Journalist who Lived in North Korea Tells Her Story in New Book
