The incredible Arirang Mass Games are on right now, but they aren’t the only happening in Pyongyang this month. North Korea is about to experience a “revolutionary” event of another kind – the country’s first DJ show!
English folk musician David Thomas Broughton, originally from Yorkshire but now based in North Korea, has teamed up with Simon Cockerel, the director of a tour agent specialising in trips to the DPRK to organise the show.
Apparently this isn’t the first occasion someone has tried to set up an event like this. Previous attempts failed because they caught the attention of authorities, namely when trying to secure large public venues like stadiums. For that very reason, Broughton and Cockerel of Koryo Tours have selected an underground karaoke bar with a capacity of 100.
This event just prompts so many questions. For example, how on earth does an English folk singer become a resident of a famously closed country? Well, it seems he’s emigrated to be with his girlfriend who works for the UK foreign office in North Korea.
And who goes to this underground show? Tickets are supposed to be open to people on trips with Koryo Tours, expats living in North Korea and the North Korean guides who work for Koryo. And what kind of music will they be dancing to? According to Brian Offenther (aka DJ BO), one the DJs playing at the party, the soundtrack will made up of “a lot of retro rock ‘n’ roll, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Rolling Stones, fun tunes to get people dancing”.
Somehow we think “party like the North Koreans” isn’t coming into fashion any time soon.
Written by insider city guide series Hg2 | A Hedonist’s guide to…
(Image: yeowatzup)
