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The "Song of Happiness" or "Warm Welcome Music" (Korean: 따뜻한 환영의 음악) is the entrance music of the leaders of North Korea. It has been played for all three of the past leaders, Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un, whenever they enter or leave a public event.[1][2] Generally during their entrance, the crowd chants cheers of manse (만세), similar to the Japanese banzai salute.
When appearing at musical performances, separate brass bands of the Korean People's Army performed the piece during the time of Kim Jong Il and early-Kim Jong Un. Nowadays however, the entrance music is generally played by the ensemble performing, with all of the musicians looking directly at the leader whilst standing.[3] The piece has also been used to welcome dignitaries to Pyongyang for significant occasions, such as Moon Jae-in for the September 2018 inter-Korean summit, and Xi Jinping for the North Korea-China summit in 2019.
Lyrics edit
During the leadership of Kim Il Sung, the song was noted to have lyrics chanting "Long Live Comrade Kim Il Sung", however this was dropped after his death in 1994.[4]
| Choson'gul | Hancha | Romanization | English | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Repeated | 만세 만세 김일성동지
만세 만세 김일성동지 김일성 김일성 만세 만세 김일성 김일성 만세 만세 |
万歳 万歳 金日成同志
万歳 万歳 金日成同志 金日成 金日成 万歳 万歳 金日成 金日成 万歳 万歳 |
(sung)
Manse manse Kim Il Sung dongji! Manse manse Kim Il Sung dongji! (shouted) Kim Il Sung, Kim Il Sung manse! Manse! Kim Il Sung, Kim Il Sung manse! Manse! |
Long live, long live Comrade Kim Il Sung!
Long live, long live Comrade Kim Il Sung! Kim Il Sung, Kim Il Sung, hurrah! Hurrah! Kim Il Sung, Kim Il Sung, hurrah! Hurrah! |
