Today, in what is perhaps one of the more historic moments in diplomatic relations between the United States and North Korea, the world renowned New York Philharmonic Orchestra paid a visit to the communist nation to put on a performance in the capital city of Pyongyang. The significance of this visit is that it is the largest contingent of Americans to visit the country since the armistice on July 27, 1953. Since no peace treaty has ever been signed, the U.S. and North Korea (DPRK) are still technically at war.
What is interesting about this is that it has provided a rare window into what is normally a secretive nation. In preparation for their arrival, DPRK has made sure that it’s capital city is at its finest. Electricity was turned on and maintained for the duration of the visit, and a cultural exchange occurred, one of the largest between the two nations in decades.
Musicians from the NY Philharmonic gave professional lessons to Korean musicians to help them improve their abilities, and the Koreans in turn held a large banquet and diplomatic ceremony for their guests. 
The concert was played to a live audience of 2,500 people in the renovated auditorium, and was broadcast live on television. To start off the ceremony, and to the jubilation of the North Koreans in attendance, the orchestra played “Patriotic Song”, the North’s national anthem. Perhaps much to their surprise, that was followed immediately by “The Star Spangled Banner.” Despite having the American gorillas having the audacity to play their anthem on Korean soil, the audience still stood in applause at its conclusion. The whole concert will be replayed on KCPT this Thursday.
What was the most interesting aspect of this for me was not so much that Americans were welcomed to a ‘hostile’ country with open arms, but how the Korean propaganda machine handled it. In a far flung link at the bottom of The Drudge Report, I found my answer. The Korean Central News Agency.
While the website might not be as flash-y (ha ha, computer joke) and high tech as other news websites, it did provide an interesting perspective on what the average Korean might think of it. The normally derogatory news articles written about the warmongering United States and its plans for world domination was met with nothing more than silence on the NY Philharmonics visit. Here’s a word count for articles published in recent days compared to the articles published for the concert (as of writing this blog, no news articles had been published after the concert.)
Symphonies of New Themes (on Korean symphonies) - 278 words
KCNA on U.S. Dangerous Moves for Arms Race in Space - 525 words
Banquet Given for New York Philharmonic - 115 words
New York Philharmonic Arrives - 32 words
It looks like now there are rumors another concert might be in store for Pyongyang, this time, the concert hall might be rocking to a different beat: Eric Clapton.
Apparently the only thing good about Kim Jong Il is his taste in music!