South Korea wants Gangnam Style singer Psy to perform in North Korea; Pyongyang officials oppose the plan

It was earlier reported that South Korea will send K-pop singers to perform in North Korea for the first time in more than a decade. A team of at least nine South Korean pop acts, including K-pop stars, will be visiting Pyongyang from 31 March. This is a reciprocal move after North Korea sent performers to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. The visit was agreed after talks between the two countries, and will include a series of concerts which will last till 3 April. The artists will include K-pop girl group Red Velvet, and veteran singers Cho Yong-pil and Lee Sun-hee. [caption id=“attachment_4407657” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Red Velvet/Image from twitter.[/caption] But, in the middle of all of this, North Korea is  not okay with Psy, the global K-Pop superstar and ‘Gangnam Style’ hit-maker, performing in their country. While Seoul is pushing for Psy to perform in next week’s historic concerts, Pyongyang is opposed to the idea of adding controversially provocative performance style of Psy to the line-up. Psy is known for stripping topless on stage, and his lyrics include Korean swearwords. [caption id=“attachment_4407659” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Psy performing live/Image from Twitter.[/caption] “We have formally proposed to the North to add Psy to the lineup,” Seoul’s MBC TV station quoted a Seoul government official as saying. While the performances in South Korea are large-scaled with thousands of people singing and dancing, North Korean audiences remain seated throughout musical performances and make minimal noise. Look at the performances in the two countries for yourself:

The concerts are part of a cross-border deal made earlier this month when Seoul envoys met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to pave the way for dialogue. The South Korean artists will perform two shows in Pyongyang; one at the East Pyongyang Grand Theatre, and the other at the Ryugyong Chung Ju-yung Gymnasium. The shows are part of reconciliatory moves ahead of a planned inter-Korean summit in April.