Spring Is Coming

Spring Is Coming (Korean: 봄이 온다; RR: Bomi Onda; MR: Pomi Onta) was a concert that occurred in Pyongyang, North Korea, on April 1 and 3, 2018. It included numerous South Korean performers, and was described as an important event in the 2018 thaw in the North Korea–South Korea relations.^[1]

The event has been described as the first South Korean musical performance in the North in "over a decade".^[1] The previous South Korean performance in the North took place in 2005, with a solo concert by Cho Yong-pil.^[1] The Spring Is Coming concert was described as a "reciprocal cultural visit" after North Korea sent performers to the South.^[1][2] In particular, North Korea's Samjiyon Orchestra gave several concerts coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics, including a concert in Seoul on February 11, attended by North Korean leader's sister Kim Yo-jong and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.^[3]

The Spring Is Coming concert took part over two days: April 1 (Sunday) and April 3 (Tuesday). The first day featured a 2 hour long concert at the East Pyongyang Grand Theatre which seats 1,500.^[1][4] Performers included at least 11^[4] South Korean singers and vocalists, including Cho Yong-pil, Lee Sun-hee, Yoon Do-hyun, Baek Ji-young, Kang San-ae, Seohyun, pianist Kim Kwang-min, five-member rock band YB, as well as five-member K-pop girl band Red Velvet (though one of Red Velvet band members, Joy, did not attend due to scheduling conflicts^[5]).^[1][4] The second day featured a joint performance between South and North Korean musicians at the Ryugyong Jong Ju Yong Gymnasium (12,000 seats), with the North side represented by the Samjiyon Orchestra.^[4][5][6] Approximately 190 South Koreans (musicians, support staff and journalists) traveled to the North for the event.^[4] In addition, South Korean taekwondo artists were to perform demonstrations on April 1 and 2, with the Sunday performance at the Pyongyang Taekwondo Hall drawing an audience of about 2,300.^[4][7]

The concert on April 1 was attended by the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un and his wife, Ri Sol-ju.^[1][6] Kim Jong-un was reported by media, including North Korean KCNA state news agency, and independent observers as enjoying himself, and praised the event himself.^[1][6] He also stated that North Korean musicians may hold another reciprocal event in the South in a few months, tentatively titled "Autumn has Come".^[8] Ordinary North Koreans may be persecuted for listening to foreign media without state permission; North Koreans caught watching South Korean movies, for example, face prison time.^[1] Although South Korean journalists were specifically invited to cover the concert, they were prevented from doing so, though apologized to by North intelligence director Kim Yong-chol, who blamed "a breakdown in cooperation between Kim Jong Un's security detail and concert organisers".^[1] The concerts have been seen as acts of cultural diplomacy.^[9]

• 2008 New York Philharmonic visit to North Korea
• April 2018 inter-Korean summit
• Korean reunification
• North Korea at the 2018 Winter Olympics