A South Korean violinist teamed with a North Korean singer for a rare joint performance at a time of heightened tensions between their rival countries.
South Korean violinist Won Hyung Joon and his North Korean soprano partner Kim Song Mi perform at the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center in Shanghai on Sunday, May 12, 2019. Won, a South Korean, performed together with Kim, a North Korean, in a rare joint performance they hope would help bring the divided Koreas closer together via music. Their performance comes three days after North Korea fired two suspected short-range missiles in the second such weapons test in five days.
Kim later reappeared in a traditional multicolored Korean dress to sing “Arirang,” a Korean traditional folk tune beloved in both countries. It’s extremely rare for musicians from both Koreas to perform together. Contact between the two sides is so restricted that North and South Koreans can’t exchange phone calls, letter or emails without special government approval.
Inspired by the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which was founded in 1999 to bring together Arab and Israeli musicians to promote mutual understanding, Won, 42, has been pushing for the establishment of an inter-Korean orchestra for nearly a decade, contacting both governments on numerous occasions. Won hopes that the fact that the performance was held despite the stalled talks shows the desire for better relations.
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