Look, I know the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is meant to be our enemy and I know that, one day, they’re going to nuke us (or at least try), but there’s a viral trend going around TikTok that makes me think that perhaps they’re not so bad after all. Indeed, a North Korean song, Friendly Father, is taking the social network platform by storm.
There is, of course, a slick music video that goes along with the song. Extremely well-produced and definitely postured to create a positive image for the hermit country, I have to admit that even though I’m an American, this is a damn catchy song. Yes, it’s probably propaganda, but it’s awesome propoganda!
Of course, one should know the lyrics to a song before liking it in some cases. This is one of those cases. It’s important to note that the lyrics almost literally praise The Supreme Leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, a guy who seems to be content to nuke us one day.
So, then, here are the lyrics according to one lyrics website:
[Intro]
Let’s sing about Kim Jong Un
Our great leader
Let’s boast about Kim Jong Un
Our friendly father
[Verse 1]
Warm-hearted, like your mother
Benevolent, like your father
He is holding his 10 million children in his arms
And taking care of us with all his heart
[Chorus]
Let’s sing about Kim Jong Un
Our great leader
Let’s boast about Kim Jong Un
Our friendly father
We all trust and follow him with all our hearts
Our friendly father
[Verse 2]
The love you give me is like the sea
The trust you give me is like the sky
You are always by our side
And make all our wishes come true
Okay, so the lyrics are cheesy and perhaps a little bit creepy, but they are not anti-American and they definitely do not suggest nuking us, so there’s that.
It’s important to note that the song is over a year old and is just now gaining traction on TikTok. Why now? Sigh…that would take a lot of research. The important thing is that this a song that we can all enjoy, even if some of us fear or even hate North Korea. Me? North Korea leaves me alone and I leave it alone. I have no ill will towards them and neither should you, to be honest.
I don’t really care about the lyrics. The beat is great and the video was probably produced by a company from another country, but it’s still a great little ditty.
And circling back to that video, there is one quick shot of a Korean woman with a smartphone in her hand and earbuds in her ears. It creates the implication or illusion that people are free to use cell phones however they wish in North Korea.
Not so! While cell phone ownership is unrestricted, North Koreans cannot access the internet outside of their country and can only access content that the government approves of, which is not much.
Yes, the video exxagerates North Korean life, but it’s still a good music video for an awesome-sounding song. As someone with a background in video production and who has directed a couple of music videos, I can say without hesitation that whomever directed and edited it is extremely talented.
I admit that I don’t know much about North Korea, but as I alluded to earlier, I highly doubt that a North Korean production company had any role in this video. To be honest, the production values skew American or perhaps British.
But most likely, the culprits are from an ally country, and North Korea has many. Maybe the Chinese produced the video. Who cares? All that matters is that this video should be in heavy rotation on MTV. Oh, wait, they moved music videos to MTV Classic.
You get my point.