'Executed' North Korean Pop-Star Hyon Song-wol Taking Spotlight in Winter Olympic Games
Hyon Song-wol is one of the most influential women in North Korea and has apparently brought her influence with her during the visit of North Korea's delegation to South Korea over the weekend. Accompanied by a press posse commonly associated with K-Pop stars, the former singer captivated South Koreans with her beauty and became the number one topic in the country.
Hyon — who was thought to have been executed in 2013 — is the leader of the advance team sent by North Korea that inspected South Korean performance venues over the weekend. Her presence sent some South Koreans, as well as some international media outlets, into a flurry.
Crowds of people tried to take photos of Hyon while newspapers clamored to analyze her clothes and everything about her. In fact, there were so many South Korean newspapers covering Hyon's visit that one publication simply ran the headline "Weekend news dominated by Hyon Song-wol."
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This attention is likely what North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wants after the country's image has been badly hurt thanks to his pursuit of nuclear missiles. By showing his country, and its people, in more peaceful and approachable light, Kim is probably hoping to ease tensions in the region.
North Korea has not only offered to send its highly political art and orchestra troupes to the South Korea Olympics, but suggested their members walk en masse across the Korean border. According to Business Insider, such acts provide excellent propaganda opportunities for "winning hearts at home and minds abroad."
As for Hyon, she is likely used to being part of international intrigue as well as employed to change the conversation around North Korea. In fact, when she recently attended inter-Korean Olympic talks, both South Korean and International press seemed more concerned about her handbag rather than the potentially world-ending missiles being launched by her home country.
