A North Korean propaganda song celebrating dictator Kim Jong Un has gone viral — and has been dubbed a pop banger by Gen Z TikTok users, according to a report.
The synth-laden earworm, titled “Friendly Father,” lavishes praise on the Hermit Kingdom’s dictator, with lyrics describing Kim as “warm-hearted like your mother” and “benevolent like your father.”
An accompanying music video for the two-minute hit released last month drives home the message conveying the power-hungry tyrant as a benevolent leader.
In one scene, Kim hugs a child before kissing her on the cheek, while in another, he is mobbed by a group of giddy women. Other moments in the video capture smiling military troops and bus riders of all ages singing along to the lyrics.
On the Chinese-owned app, the song has racked up millions of views, including from many Gen-Z users who are oblivious to the song’s lyrics that shower adoration on the same man who this earlier year promised to “thoroughly annihilate” the United States and rival South Korea if provoked, the BBC reported.
Some unexpected fans described the hit’s infectious melodies as “ABBA-coded,” according to the outlet, which has helped the track reach levels of virality typically expected from a hit by the current reigning pop queen — not a Communist state’s propaganda machine.
“Taylor Swift was not expecting to get blown out of the water right after dropping her new album,” one online user said, while another joked the song “needs a Grammy.”
Agitprop like “Friendly Father” — the latest in a 50 year tradition of North Korea propaganda pop songs — are intended to be catchy and accessible in order to burrow into the minds of listeners, experts said.
Alexandra Leonzini, a Cambridge University scholar focusing on North Korean music, explained to the BBC such tracks also rarely feature any actual emotions.
“The idea is they want to motivate, to strive towards a common goal for the benefit of the nation… they don’t tend to produce songs like ballads,” she told the outlet.
Analysts also warned that the song could point to a direction the country is shifting, particularly with lyrics referring to Kim as “father” and “the Great.”
The terms previously had been used solely for North Korea’s first leader, his grandfather Kim Il Sung, and may be a sign that he is looking to bolster his position as his nation’s “Supreme Leader.”
“Songs are used to telegraph the direction the state is going in… to signpost important moments and important developments in politics,” Leonzini told the BBC.
“A song is almost like the newspaper in North Korea.”
