[Joint Press Corps]
PYONGYANG -- A South Korean art troupe held a historic performance in Pyongyang on Sunday with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife in attendance.
A 160-member art troupe, including celebrated K-pop musicians such as Cho Yong-pil, Red Velvet and Seohyun, performed for about two hours before a North Korean audience in the fully packed, 1,500-seat East Pyongyang Grand Theatre.
It marks the first performance by South Korean artists in the North Korean capital since 2005, when Cho, a contemporary K-pop legend, held a solo concert there.
The North Korean leader was seen watching the show and clapping while sitting in the center of the second-floor seats, according to the show's cast members. Kim and his wife Ri Sol-ju sat next to South Korean culture minister Do Jong-whan. The performance began at 6:50 p.m. (South Korean time), about one hour later than scheduled due to Kim's surprise attendance.
His sister Kim Yo-jung and Kim Yong-nam, the North's ceremonial head of state, were also present at the concert amid a thawing of inter-Korean ties driven by North Korea's participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February.
Under the title "Spring Comes," 11 famous South Korean artists or groups -- Cho Yong-pil, Lee Sun-hee, Choi Jin-hee, Yoon Do-hyun, Baek Ji-young, Red Velvet, Jungin, Seohyun, Ali, Kang San-eh and jazz pianist Kim Kwang-min -- performed 26 songs transcending the inter-Korean border and generations.
North Korean audiences cheered and applauded in response to the intense sound and appealing voices of the South Korean performers. "I was so overwhelmed that I couldn't even see the score," Choi Hee-seon, a guitarist in Cho Yong-pil's band, told reporters after the performance.
Including the art troupe, a 186-strong South Korean artistic delegation led by Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Do arrived in Pyongyang on Saturday for a four-day visit. The delegation also includes a 20-member team of taekwondo performers and 10 staff members, reporters and government officials, and they traveled aboard two chartered flights via a direct air route from Seoul.
(Yonhap)
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
