Pro-North Korea 'Ureuk Symphony Orchestra' Performance
In the heart of New York City, North Korean defectors and some Korean Americans held a protest rally holding banners written in Korean. The reason was that a pro-North Korean orchestra in New York performed music praising North Korea.
According to the Kaufman Music Center in Manhattan, New York City, on the 2nd (local time), the Korean-American orchestra 'Uruk Symphony Orchestra (Uruk Orchestra)' held its 128th concert under the theme "Spring in Bloom in April" at the Merkin Hall of the music center that evening.
The Uruk Symphony, led by pro-North Korean Korean-American musician Lee Jun-moo (American name Christopher Lee), holds regular performances 2 to 3 times a year at Merkin Hall. This orchestra is known for subtly inserting North Korean praise music among classical pieces.
It is presumed that pro-North Korean music was also performed during the middle of this concert, which appears to have been held to commemorate North Korea's Day of the Sun (Kim Il-sung's birthday) on the 15th of this month.
This is not the first time they have performed North Korean praise music. In their September 2016 performance, they played North Korean praise songs such as "Steps," "Our Oath," "Victory March," and "My Country," causing controversy. In particular, "Steps" is known as a praise song for Kim Jong-un, the Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea.
Some audience members who were unaware that the pieces performed were North Korean praise songs even gave the orchestra a standing ovation. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and others reported on this situation at the time.
As the pro-North Korean concerts repeated annually, protests were held right in front of the concert hall.
Led by Ma Young-ae, head of the International North Korean Defectors Human Rights Solidarity, more than 50 people including the New York Veterans Association, New York and New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Association, the Patriotic Comrades Association, and the Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee Memorial Associations gathered in front of the Kaufman Music Center, protesting with the slogan "We condemn the Kim Jong-un regime that carries out nuclear provocations against the Republic of Korea."
Ms. Ma said, "I could not tolerate that a North Korean praise concert is still held in the human rights superpower, the United States," and added, "When I informed Americans trying to enter the concert hall that it was a 'North Korean praise music concert,' some turned away."
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