ABSTRACT
“Imjin River” (Imjin’gang) is a North Korean song, composed in 1957, that has been nationally and transnationally consumed in Japan and the two Koreas. The song depicts the Imjin River, which flows south from North Korea, traversing the Demilitarized Zone and then joining the Han River near Seoul. In the North, “Imjin River” was a communist composition that expresses the economic superiority of the North while capturing the sentiment of a divided nation, in particular of the North Korean people who long for the homeland in the South. In South Korea and Japan, “Imjin River” became a popular tune sung by several musicians – despite its ban for broadcast in both states at various periods – performed at concerts and on television music programmes, played on radio and featured in film soundtracks. Through new lyrics and stylistic changes, “Imjin River” has been transformed multiple times, transcending a range of different musical and cultural boundaries across the East Sea. In the process, the song has gained new meanings for various local audiences. In this chapter, I explore the production and consumption of “Imjin River” across the two Koreas and Japan and its attraction for its national and transnational audiences.
