Girl group Red Velvet expressed surprise at the reaction of their North Korean audience.
Red Velvet has concluded their very first performance in North Korea to a receptive and enthusiastic audience. The leader of the group Irene said that after they finished performing their songs, the “audience was smiling and applauded.”
Once on stage, the girl group performed two of their recent hits: the summery and fun “Red Flavor” and the sultry R&B song “Bad Boy.” The audience was much more welcoming and receptive than the group had anticipated. More, it also seemed that the audience had heard their songs before. “The clapped and sang along much louder than we expected,” Yeri said, expressing relief at their reaction. Wendy explained that “even if the audience did not react” to their songs, they wanted to do their best.
It was a good thing they did too. Kim Jong-un came specifically to watch their performance. In an interview with reporters, Kim said, “I was very interested in coming to see Red Velvet, but I had decided to come the day after tomorrow (April 3). However, I realigned my schedule so that I could come to Pyongyang today.” He went on to thank the attending South Korean artists, 11 in total, for coming saying “Thank you for giving this gift to the citizens of Pyongyang.”
It is possible that because Kim Jong-un has rearranged his schedule to attend, North Korean officials asked to change the start time of the concert a few time. The performance, which was initially slated to begin at 5:30 pm, KST, was delayed for two hours at officials’ request. It was first changed to 7:30 pm and later shifted to 6:30 pm.
Media Speculation and Control
Some speculate that while officials’ explained that the changes were so that more citizen could attend, it was really intended to accommodate Kim Jong-un’s schedule.
During this process, reporters could not enter the concert hall. Prior to the shift in schedule, reporters had been allowed to watch the rehearsal until around 3 pm when they were ushered into a waiting room at the request of the north.
As they waited, five to six North Korean staff members monitored the reporters from the corridor. When asked about the concert and if they would be able to re-enter the concert hall, staff reportedly said, “We haven’t reached an agreement [on that] yet. W can’t even start the performance or go [into the concert hall] anyways; we have no authority over the event.”
Meanwhile, the South Korean Arts’ Delegation will have another performance at the Ryugyong Chung Ju-yung Gymnasium on April 3 at 4 pm, KST. Afterward, they will return to South Korea, arriving at Incheon International Airport.
Translated by O.C
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