Key Points
A song celebrating Kim Jong-un and his leadership was performed at a ceremony in Pyongyang on Tuesday. Titled Friendly Father, the song declares that North Korean people believe in Kim and will follow him “united”. The song and its accompanying music video follow recent attempts to promote Kim’s cult of personality.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been celebrated as the nation’s “friendly father” in a new song broadcast on state television this week.
The song was first performed live to celebrate the opening of a new 10,000-home development in Pyongyang on Tuesday, which Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said was finished “at the highest level” within a 14-month period.
The housing completion ceremony featured a large-scale concert with jet flyovers and a live performance by some of the nation’s top singers, who unveiled the new song in tribute to North Korea’s supreme leader.
Titled Friendly Father, the track praises Kim for delivering a “brighter future” for North Korea and declares that “the people believe and will follow united”. An accompanying music video released on Wednesday shows workers, defence personnel and everyday citizens cheering, dancing and punching the air as they proclaim their love for Kim.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visiting the Kim Jong-il University of Military and Politics in Pyongyang, North Korea last week in a photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Credit: KCNA/EPA
The song is the latest in a string of recent attempts to bolster Kim’s cult of personality. Between 2022 and 2023, Kim approved a series of large-scale murals showing him shovelling dirt, visiting a medical factory and surrounded by plants in a greenhouse.
In July 2023, a series of paintings showing Kim engaged in activities such as riding a horse, meeting with school children and standing atop North Korea’s “holy” Mount Paektu were unveiled at an art exhibition. Months later, in November, reports claimed that a song titled the Hymn of General Kim Jong-un had become the official song at state events.
Kim arrived at the housing completion ceremony on Tuesday in an armoured limousine gifted to him by Russian leader Vladimir Putin. He and his entourage of top officials sat atop a building during the ceremony, while the singers performed for him on an opposite rooftop.
