S. Korean art troupe's gig in N.K. likely to center on S. Korean pop music

SEOUL, March 19 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean art troupe to Pyongyang will mainly perform South Korean pop music, as South and North Korea will hold talks this week on its planned performance in early April, a Seoul official said Monday.

Yun Sang, a popular singer and composer who has been tapped as the music director for Seoul's art troupe, will be South Korea's chief delegate for inter-Korean working-level talks, which will be held Tuesday at the border village of Panmunjom.

It marks the first time that a South Korean entertainer will represent a South Korean delegation for inter-Korean talks.

Seoul's unification ministry said that in selecting Yun Sang, the government took into account his extensive experience of composing pop music and the short period of preparation for a Pyongyang gig.

"A performance that will fall in early April is likely to center on pop music. Due to a need to prepare for the performance in a short period of time, he has been tapped (a chief delegate and music director)," Baik Tae-hyun, spokesman at Seoul's unification ministry, told a press briefing.

The South agreed to send its art troupe and a taekwondo demonstration team to Pyongyang after South Korean special envoys met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in early March.

Yun Sang, whose real name is Lee Yun-sang, got his start in the music industry as a songwriter for popular '80s pop singer Kim Hyun-shik and debuted as a solo artist in 1991.

Known for his unique and sophisticated works, he has thrived as a prolific composer and producer for various hit artists, including contemporary idol musicians.

"The government has set the principle that an art troupe's head will be a person who is well-versed in the musical tastes of different generations," the ministry said.

"Yun Sang was picked due to his extensive experience in dealing with various artists and diverse genres, ranging from ballad to electronic dance music," it added.

For Tuesday's talks, his counterpart will be Hyon Song-wol, the head of the all-female Moranbong Band. She came to South Korea to lead a North Korean art troupe for gigs marking the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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