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You don't have to follow North Korea blogs to have heard about this, but while the major networks may have scooped us on this one, we make up for it with bad Photoshop (Microsoft Paint to be honest). So apparently Kim Jong Un was in attendance at an epic concert in Pyongyang earlier this month. While over the top festivities are nothing new to North Korea, the songs and "performers" present were definitely a surprise to many.
First of all, the concert starred a newly formed band out of the Moranbong district in Pyongyang. Their style is notably more poppy than the typical music to come out of North Korea. The band was more than just poppy in fact, they actually sang some notable American songs. Reportedly the band, perhaps ironically, sang Frank Sinatra's "My Way" and later belted out the theme to Rocky! Better yet, they apparently played video of Rocky's fight with Soviet powerhouse Ivan Drago from Rocky IV in the background.
In an effort to take things into complete overdrive, the musicians were joined on stage by some familiar faces. Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and an unknown green dinosaur (Yoshi?) all joined the band on stage. Now there's no telling what all the characters were saying on stage at one point. One might even suspect that they were there to praise Songun and renounce their American citizenship. I'm guessing this is all some sort of high brow performance art. Disney, for its part, does not appear entirely amused.
Last but not least, the concert also featured an unknown guest in attendance at the side of Kim Jong Un. A young woman appeared to accompany Kim to the event and sat beside him in the front row. Gossip sites the world over immediately began speculating about who this woman is. Many began speculating that this woman may be Kim's new squeeze. Others suggested it could be his sister. Well, according to South Korean intelligence, the woman is actually a North Korean pop star named Hyon Song-Wol. The rumor mill has it that Kim and Hyon knew each other as far back as Switzerland and may be rekindling an old romance. Check out her biggest hit.
Regardless of who she is, this concert is a contender for strangest North Korean event of 2012.