No Motherland Without You

No Motherland Without You
Chosŏn'gŭl 당신이 없으면 조국도 없다
Hancha 當身이 없으면 祖國도 없다
Revised Romanization Dangsini eopseumyeon jogukdo eopda
McCune–Reischauer Tangsini ŏpsŭmyŏn chogukto ŏpta[1]

The "No Motherland Without You" (or "Ode to Kim Jong-il"), is a popular North Korean song about the country's former leader, Kim Jong-il. It proclaims the talent and virtues of Kim, and the attachment of the Korean people for him as he led them out of the turmoils of the Arduous March. The repeated phrase in the song is "Without you, there would be no us! Without you, there would be no motherland!" It is also considered to be the anthem of the Songun ("military-first") policy that Kim implemented in coexistence with the Juche Idea in 1995. It is frequently broadcast on the radio and from loudspeakers on the streets of Pyongyang.[2]

Significance

"No Motherland Without You" was composed especially for Kim Jong-il, the former leader of North Korea.[3] It is considered his "signature song".[4] The song enjoys popularity in North Korea.[3] It is often sung at the end of public gatherings when the "Song of General Kim Il-sung" is sung at the beginning.[5]

Lyrics

Though the official lyrics use the phrase "김정일동지" (Comrade Kim Jong-il) to refer to the son of Kim Il-sung, the current usage of the song refers to him as "김정일장군" (General Kim Jong-il) because of his capacity as the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army since 1991.

The military version of the song refers to Kim Jong-il as General Kim Jong-il ("Kim Chŏng-il changgun"), not Comrade Kim Jong-il ("Kim Chŏng-il tongji") because of his concurrent capacities as KPA Supreme Commander-in-Chief since 1991 and Chairman of the DPRK National Defense Commission since 1993, while the civilian/official version refers otherwise because of his capacity as Workers Party of Korea General Secretary since 1997 and other previous and present civilian positions.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Keith Howard (January 2006). Korean Pop Music: Riding the Wave. Global Oriental. p. 163. ISBN 978-1-905246-22-9.
  2. ↑ Marshall Cavendish Corporation (2007). World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia. Marshall Cavendish. p. 929. ISBN 978-0-7614-7631-3.
  3. 1 2 Sue Vander Hook (1 January 2011). Communism. ABDO. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-61758-947-8.
  4. ↑ Dalton Fury (20 October 2015). One Killer Force: A Delta Force Novel. St. Martin's Press. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-4668-7090-1.
  5. ↑ Eddie Burdick (26 May 2010). Three Days in the Hermit Kingdom: An American Visits North Korea. McFarland. p. 328. ISBN 978-0-7864-5653-6.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/10/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.