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The Mangyongbong ferry carrying a North Korean musical performance group arrives in Mukho Harbor in the city of Donghae on Feb. 6, where it was greeted by throngs of police and hundreds of demonstrators from conservative groups. (by Park Jong-shik, staff photographer)
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The group will hold two performances in Seoul and Gangneung during the Pyeongchang Olympics
At 4:20 pm, with the temperature down to -2 degrees Celsius, the North Korean flag on the smokestack of the Mangyongbong 92 came into view between the breakwater and the pier at Mukho Harbor in Donghae, Gangwon Province. As the Mangyongbong drew closer to the pier, the members of conservative groups near the passenger terminal became more boisterous, and their shouting grew louder and louder. Mistaking the 300 or so conservative protesters as a welcome party, North Koreans came out of their cabins and waved at the protesters. When the North Koreans saw them burning the North Korean flag, however, they started taking snapshots with their cameras. The Mangyongbong put in at Mukho Harbor at 5 pm on Feb. 6, carrying more than 140 members of North Korea’s Samjiyon Band, a musical performance group led by Hyon Song-wol. The last time that the ship entered a South Korean harbor was 16 years (5,611 days) ago, when it made a call at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan. At the time, the Mangyongbong carried a North Korean cheerleading squad of more than 300 people and docked at Dadaepo Harbor in Busan, where it remained for two weeks, providing the North Koreans with a place to eat and sleep. The Mangyongbong departed from Wonsan Harbor on the morning of Feb. 6. After crossing the East Sea maritime demarcation line around 9:50 am, it was joined by a South Korean naval vessel that escorted it at a maximum of 13 knots. The Mangyongbong was brought alongside the dock with the assistance of two coast guard ships and two tugboats. Mukho Harbor had been designated as the destination of the Samjiyon Band the day before, and it was filled with preparatory activity throughout the day. An X-ray scanner was set up at the harbor’s passenger terminal, and banners reading “Best wishes for the Peace Olympics” and carrying a picture of the Olympic mascot were hung up at intersections around the harbor. “I came out because I thought it was amazing that the Mangyongbong was coming to Mukho. I hope that the band’s performance goes well, just as I hope that the Pyeongchang Olympics goes well,” said Kim Seon-guk, a 54-year-old resident of Donghae, who visited the passenger terminal to see the ship. Conservative groups protest with chants, flag burning The area around the Mukho Harbor passenger terminal was packed with hundreds of members of conservative groups, including the Korean Patriots’ Party, as well as local and foreign reporters, who had congregated there. As soon as the Mangyongbong reached the dock, conservative protesters attempted to burn a North Korean flag and a photograph of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, sparking a clash with police trying to stop them. The conservative protesters also sang the South Korean national anthem and chanted slogans such as “Go back to the North” and “No to the Pyongyang Olympics.” An advance team of 23 technical staff from North Korea’s musical performance group had already reached South Korea on Feb. 5 by travelling overland along the Gyeongui line, and the rest of the group arrived on Feb. 6 by sea, bringing the group to its full size of over 160 people. The group will be performing in Gangneung on Feb. 8 and in Seoul on Feb. 11 in an event called the “Special Concert by the Samjiyon Orchestra for the Success of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and Paralympics.” The group will be staying on the Mangyongbong until Feb. 8, the date of the concert in Gangneung, as it shuttles back and forth from Mukho to Gangneung. After that, it’s expected to travel to Seoul by train and prepare for the concert in Seoul, which will be held at the Haeoreum Theater at the National Theater of Korea. If North Korea requests supplies, the Unification Ministry is expected to provide the musical performance group with the food, beverages and heating fuel it needs to stay on the Mangyongbong until the concert in Gangneung on Feb. 8. “We’re planning to provide supplies as we have done in the past, such as during the Asian Games in 2002. But North Korea has not yet asked for supplies, and no decision has been made about what the supplies would consist of,” said an official with South Korea’s Unification Ministry. SK government working to ensure that international sanctions will not be violated In regard to allegations that the Mangyongbong may violate sanctions against North Korea, the official said that “the government will be in close consultation with the US and other members of the international community to ensure that there is no controversy about violations of the sanctions.” On the morning of Feb. 7, more than 280 North Koreans – including Minister of Physical Culture and Sports Kim Il-guk and three other members of North Korea’s National Olympic Committee, 229 cheerleaders, 26 members of a Taekwondo demonstration team and 21 reporters – will be traveling to South Korea on the Gyeongui Line overland route. By Hwang Keum-bi and Kim Ji-eun, staff reporters Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
