--- description: Pop star Hyon Song Wol went on a trip to South Korea to inspect facilities where North Korean athletes will compete at the Winter Olympics. title: Meet Hyon Song Wol, North Korea’s Pop Star Turned Diplomat image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt09f7725ce5933bec/6988f95d22fb85d6b5e247b7/hyon-song-wol-north-korea-pop-star-diplomat-olympics.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Meet Hyon Song Wol, North Korea’s Pop Star Turned Diplomat by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 25, 2018 11:06 AM CUT  Hyon’s pop group Moranbong Band has been called North Korea’s answer to the Spice Girls Hyon’s pop group Moranbong Band has been called North Korea’s answer to the Spice GirlsKPPA/Pool/Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 25, 2018 11:06 AM CUT On Jan. 21, a delegation of North Korean officials arrived in South Korea ahead of the Winter Olympics on a well-publicized visit to inspect the facilities where North Korean athletes will compete. But it was the woman heading the delegation, Hyon Song Wol, who sent local media into a frenzy. KOREAN IDOL Hyon is the front woman in North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s handpicked all-female pop group Moranbong Band, known for its Western-style pop songs honoring the Supreme Leader and his regime. In 2013, South Korean media reported that Hyon had been executed following a sex scandal, but she reappeared on Korean television the following year. In October, she was appointed to the powerful Workers’ Party Central Committee. GAMES WITHOUT FRONTIERS After the historic thaw in relations between the two Koreas in January, Hyon had a prominent role in diplomatic talks. She will also head the 140-member Samjiyon Orchestra, made up of musicians and dancers, which will perform at the Games. In Seoul, Hyon’s delegation was met by activists protesting the Olympic cooperation between the nations. North Korea’s team is set to join South Korea under one flag in the opening ceremonies. MUSICAL DIPLOMACY Bands and orchestras have long been used as a soft-power tool in North Korea. The isolated state, under international sanctions for its nuclear-weapons program, will be eager to be cast in a positive light during the Games. But Olympic officials will be just as eager to ensure that North Korea has no chance to put propaganda on display. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5118023/north-korean-pop-star-diplomat-hyon-song-wol/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5118023/north-korean-pop-star-diplomat-hyon-song-wol/"},"headline":"Meet Hyon Song Wol, North Korea’s Pop Star Turned Diplomat","datePublished":"2018-01-25T11:06:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:00:35.631Z","description":"Pop star Hyon Song Wol went on a trip to South Korea to inspect facilities where North Korean athletes will compete at the Winter Olympics.","url":"https://time.com/5118023/north-korean-pop-star-diplomat-hyon-song-wol/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt09f7725ce5933bec/6988f95d22fb85d6b5e247b7/hyon-song-wol-north-korea-pop-star-diplomat-olympics.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Helen Regan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/helen-regan/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt09f7725ce5933bec/6988f95d22fb85d6b5e247b7/hyon-song-wol-north-korea-pop-star-diplomat-olympics.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"North Korea Advance Team Visits Soul Ahead Of Olympics","caption":"North Korea Advance Team Visits Soul Ahead Of Olympics","creditText":"KPPA/Pool/Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5118023/north-korean-pop-star-diplomat-hyon-song-wol/","name":"Meet Hyon Song Wol, North Korea’s Pop Star Turned Diplomat"}}]}] ```