ABSTRACT
On December 10, 2015, the news report on “North Korea’s all-female pop group will perform in China” was closely followed by another news item: “K-pop group Oh My Girl are detained at LAX office for being mistaken for sex workers.” The news captured the clash of the two Koreas’ popular culture; Korean Wave in South Korea and Moranbong in North Korea, the latter claiming Psy as its rival. These two incidents tellingly portray the resonance and dissonance that the two Koreas have generated with their global audience. North Korea’s all-female pop group Moranbong was soon reported to return to North Korea without having given a performance and no explanation was offered in public. They, however, have a considerable presence on social networking services (SNSs). Their Facebook fan page, “Moranbong” in English, has attracted 2,327 Likes, and as of December 11, 2015 their YouTube channel had amassed a significant 3,521,229 subscribers. The simultaneous outbreak of the news concerning two of Korea’s girl groups is uncanny.
