N.Y. Philharmonic to visit North Korea

BEIJING — Not since 1950 when the U.S. Army briefly captured Pyongyang during the Korean War have so many Americans descended on the world's most reclusive, anti-U.S. capital. This time, though, the invasion is not military but musical.

A 747 jumbo jet from Beijing is scheduled to arrive Monday in Pyongyang carrying a full symphony orchestra — 130 members of the New York Philharmonic and their instruments, minus only the piano. About 200 people are accompanying the musicians, an entourage that includes journalists, diplomats, assorted Korea experts, technicians and well-wishers.

The orchestra is to perform Tuesday at East Pyongyang's Grand Theater for an elite North Korean crowd that some believe might include the nation's authoritarian leader, Kim Jong Il.

Under the arrangement with the Philharmonic, the North Koreans are supposed to broadcast the concert on state television, which routinely refers to Americans as "imperialist warmongers."

"There has been a lot of anger, suspicion and demonization over the years. Now thousands of North Koreans will get for the first time to see Americans in a different context," said Evans Revere, president of the New York-based Korea Society, which has helped with the logistics.

The trip was arranged through private channels, but it has received the support of the State Department because it will provide a positive image of America, at a time of negotiations over dismantling North Korea's nuclear program.

When the Philharmonic received an invitation from North Korea last summer, it contacted the State Department for advice. As Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill recalled, a high-level discussion took place over the question of "Can it do any harm?"

It was decided that it would not.

Many others disagree. Conservative critics are taking the New York Philharmonic to task, saying it will be serenading a dictator who keeps up to 200,000 people in forced labor camps. Philharmonic music director Lorin Maazel caused more controversy with remarks suggesting the United States shouldn't criticize North Korea's human-rights record because of its own treatment of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay.

Chuck Downs, a former Pentagon official and board member of the Washington-based U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, complained that the orchestra's visit is a propaganda coup that gives Kim the appearance of legitimacy.

"It is really not helpful to have the New York Philharmonic as an institution making light of the North Korean regime's abuses of human rights," Downs said.

Kim Chul-woong, a 33-year-old North Korean classical pianist who defected and now lives in Seoul, South Korea, said, "I am sure the North Korean government is telling everyone this concert is a victory for Kim Jong Il and a sign that the United States is lowering itself and bowing to him. But I think what's more important is that North Korean people will see with their own eyes that Americans are different from what they were taught."

No aspect of the Philharmonic's trip has been entirely free of controversy. Some have suggested that the music selected is too apolitical, failing to send a strong enough signal about the need for change in North Korea.

The program consists of Antonin Dvorak's "New World Symphony," George Gershwin's "An American in Paris" and the Prelude to Act III of Richard Wagner's "Lohengrin."

At the opening, the orchestra is also supposed to play the "Star Spangled Banner" along with the North Korean national anthem.

Besides performing, orchestra members are expected to conduct master classes in Pyongyang for North Korean musicians. The orchestra, which is also performing in Beijing and Shanghai during its Asian trip, will spend about 48 hours in North Korea before flying on to Seoul for another concert.

Every aspect of the tour has been painstakingly negotiated. Fearful of the perception that it was performing exclusively for Kim Jong Il's cadres, the Philharmonic insisted on as large a concert hall as possible and the broadcast on North Korean television. In addition, the concert is being televised the same day on public television in New York and will be distributed two days later by PBS.

The North Koreans gave special permission for international dignitaries who are attending the inauguration Monday in Seoul of new South Korean president Lee Myung-bak to drive across the demilitarized zone to attend the concert. These include former U.S. Secretary of Defense William J. Perry and former U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Donald Gregg.