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One of the perks of being North Korea’s “Great Successor,” a.k.a. Kim Jong Un, is command performances by Disney characters. Another is getting your own theme song. While in other parts of the world, theme songs are ordinarily the domain of superheroes, cartoon characters and television shows, it’s a North Korean tradition that dates back to the country’s founder, Kim’s grandfather Kim Il-Sung.
Unlike his father and grandfather’s songs, though, Kim Jong Un’s theme doesn’t mention the country’s leader by name. Instead, the song takes a page out of DeadMau5’s book and more or less remixes one of his speeches. Titled “Onwards Toward the Final Victory,” the song takes its name from the closing words of the speech Kim gave on April 15 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of his grandfather, according to The Guardian.
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The theme song is part of a concerted effort to build up the image of the so-called “great successor” via a vast propaganda campaign. The song is airing several times a day on radio and television, according to The Guardian, and the score has been printed in the official newspaper Rodong Sinmun. “The song hardens the will of the Korean army and people to devote their all to the prosperity of the country with high national pride,” said the state run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), who also report that the song has been enthusiastically received by North Korean citizens, naturally.
“Onwards Toward the Final Victory,” is catchy enough that perhaps people will remember it far longer than his father Kim Jong Il’s signature tune, which was not “So Ronery,” but the far less memorable “No Motherland Without You.”