Morten Traavik, Uģis Olte
The ex-Yugoslavian now Slovenian band Laibach becomes the first rock group ever to perform in the state of North Korea. Confronting strict ideology and cultural differences, the band struggles to get their songs through the needle¡¯s eye of censorship before they can be unleashed on an audience never before exposed to alternative rock¡¯n¡¯roll. Meanwhile, propaganda loudspeakers are being set up at the border between the two Koreas and a countdown to war is announced.
The Liberation Day, called 'HaeBang-Il' in Korean, is designated, the 15th of August, the day of the end of the World War II and also the independence day of the Korean Peninsula. And it is the day to celebrate that (North) Koreans had won back their freedom from Japan¡¯s colonial rule. But the North Korean regime restricts the freedom of the people to preserve the political power that it had come to grasp following the Korea War. A Slovenian band 'Laibach', having been formed in Yugoslavia under previous socialist government, performed to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Liberation day in Pyongyang in 2015. The film depicts the band who, focusing on the duality of freedom, prepares for the performance and gives a concert in a most controlled country in the world. The band has not only received a lot of attention, but also faced sanctions because of their music and stating sending out a political message, and then it became the first foreign rock band allowed to perform in Pyongyang. The members of the band are so excited about the performance in North Korea similar to the totalitarian societies that they have aimed satire on until now, but get disappointed at experiencing the conflicts of opinion and cultural differences in the preparation. In the images of regular people in North Korea, becoming curious about the strange music and eccentric staging of the band, we could sense other possibilities: the 'Laibach' and North Koreans who try to be in touch with each other and to mediate differences of opinions through the means of the music, let us think again about that 'the freedom' is something we nurture, not something given. [Kim Seong-gyeong]
Morten Traavik
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Uģis Olte
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