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Industrial-Electro Rockers Laibach Will Be the First Foreign Band to Play North Korea

2 minute read

They’re known for their dark, brooding covers of popular songs like Europe’s “The Final Countdown,” Queen’s “One Vision” and The Beatles’ “Let It Be.” They’re also known for wearing military uniforms on stage and have been labeled as “fascist,” although fans say their controversial getup is an ironic critique of authoritarianism.

And soon, the members of avant-garde Slovenian band Laibach will also be known for being the first foreign music act to publicly perform in North Korea.

The band has announced two concerts at Pyongyang’s Kim Won Gyun Music Conservatory, scheduled for the 19th and 20th of August to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the isolated military dictatorship’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule. The shows are apparently to be filmed for a documentary to be released in 2016.

Laibach, founded in 1980 in what was then Yugoslavia and named after the German word for Slovenia’s capital city Ljubljana, also hopes to take as many foreign fans into the highly secretive nation as it can.

“Although our main mission is to give as many Koreans as possible the Laibach experience, we are also working hard to ensure that a certain number of foreign visitors, in the spirit of brotherhood and understanding between the peoples, will be welcome as well,” the band said. It lists two tour operators that are hoping to be given the green light.

“North Korea is portrayed in the West as the world’s most closed country, but in fact it is more open to the outside world than the prevailing media narrative suggests,” the band’s director Morten Traavik told the BBC.

“Both the country and the band have been portrayed by some as fascist outcasts. The truth is that both are misunderstood.”

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KCNA picture shows North Korean leader Kim and his wife Ri during a visit to Unit 1017 of KPA Air and Anti-Air Force
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (3rd L) and his wife Ri Sol-ju (2nd L) look on during a visit to Unit 1017 of the Korean People's Army (KPA) Air and Anti-Air Force, honoured with the title of O Jung Hup-led 7th Regiment, in this undated picture released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 21, 2013. KCNA—REUTERS
NKOREA-POLITICS-KIM
This undated picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on July 7, 2014 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) being celebrated by soldiers as he inspects the defense detachment on Ung Islet, defending an outpost in the East Sea of Korea. KNS—AFP/Getty Images
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits Mangyongdae Revolutionary School
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits Mangyongdae Revolutionary School on the occasion of the 68th anniversary of the founding of the Korean Children's Union (KCU) in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang June 7, 2014. KCNA—REUTERS
KCNA handout shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looking through a pair of binoculars during inspection of Hwa Islet Defence Detachment off east coast of Korean peninsula
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looks through a pair of binoculars during an inspection of the Hwa Islet Defence Detachment standing guard over a forward post off the east coast of the Korean peninsula, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on July 1, 2014. KCNA—REUTERS
NKOREA-HOSPITAL-CHILDREN
This undated picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on May 19, 2014 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) meeting with children at a baby home and orphanage as he visits the Taesongsan General Hospital in Pyongyang. KNS—AFP/Getty Images
NKOREA-KIM
This photo taken on July 27, 2014 and released on July 28, 2014 by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows service personnel of North Korean Army salute to a portrait of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un clad in marshal unform at the plaza of the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, the 61st anniversary of the victory of the Fatherland Liberation War. KCNA—AFP/Getty Images
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un smokes a cigarette as he gives guidance on the development of Ssuk Islet
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un smokes a cigarette as he gives guidance on the development of Ssuk Islet in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang June 2, 2014. KCNA—REUTERS
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a construction site of a resort for scientists
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) visits a construction site of a resort for scientists in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang May 29, 2014. KCNA—REUTERS
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un sits in a wooden boat with other soldiers as he visits military units on islands in the most southwest of Pyongyang
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) sits in a wooden boat with other soldiers as he visits military units on islands in the most southwest of Pyongyang in this picture released by the North's official KCNA news agency in Pyongyang August 19, 2012. KCNA—REUTERS
North Korea :  Kim Jong Un
The photo provided by KCNA on Aug. 15, 2014 shows top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un (C) guides the test-fire of a "Korean style ultra-precision high-performance tactical rocket" on the occasion of the 69th anniversary of the nation's liberation. KCNA—XIHNUA/SIPA
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the newly built ski resort in the Masik Pass region
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the newly built ski resort in the Masik Pass region, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on December 31, 2013. North Korea's state-run television KRT said Kim was satisfied with the ski resort after looking around its facilities which included a hotel, ski service and rental shops. KCNA—Reuters
NK rocket firing drill
A picture released by the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the ruling North Korean Workers Party released on 30 June 2014, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observing a tactical rocket firing drill of the North's Strategic Force at an unidentified place. Rodong Sinmun—EPA

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Write to Rishi Iyengar at rishi.iyengar@timeasia.com