Today's News

Though nearly 80 years have passed since the song The Glorious Motherland was made, it is cherished deep in the hearts of the Korean people as a hymn to the motherland. The song was composed by Ri Myon Sang.

Born into a poor peasant’s family during the Japanese imperialists’ military occupation of Korea, Ri studied music at a normal school for several years and then learned to play the organ and the violin while working as a teacher. At that time he had a special attachment to folk songs, collected and arranged them on musical sheets and studied them. He produced a collection of nursery rhymes by compiling over 20 songs.

As he could not go on with his teaching career due to the harsh suppression by the Japanese imperialists, he went abroad and studied music under adversity.

However, his fate as a wretched musician who was deprived of the country by the aggressors did not change. So his works of those days reflected the history of sufferings and sorrow of the Korean people.

It was only after Korea’s liberation that he could glorify his life as a talented composer and make such famous songs as The Glorious Motherland which eulogized the pride of the Korean people and their love for the country.

During the Fatherland Liberation War (June 25 1950-July 27 1953), he composed many pieces of music, including Song of National Defence (1950), Mungyong Pass (1950), The 2 000-ri Amnok River (1952), The Dear Home in My Native Village (1952) and We Have Won (1953), reflecting the love for the country, the hatred for the enemy and the heroic fighting spirit of the Korean People’s Army soldiers and people.

His creative career was in its heyday along with the history of accelerated development of the DPRK in the postwar period. In particular, he displayed creative wisdom and enthusiasm in the creation of music for the Sea of Blood-style revolutionary operas and other works of stage art, making a great contribution to the development of the musical art of the country.

People’s Artist Ri Myon Sang, the first chairman of the Central Committee of the Union of Musicians of Korea, was the first winner of the Kim Il Sung Prize in the country.

His remains are at the Patriotic Martyrs Cemetery in Sinmi-ri.