Hyon Song-wol: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Hyon Song-wol pictured with Kim Jong-un in 2012. (KNCA)

Hyon Song-wol is the former girlfriend of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un. It’s said that she was executed by firing squad after being arrested on August 17 for breaching the country’s strict anti-pornography laws, reports The Chosun Illbo.

But further digging into the lives of those who live in this notoriously secret regime tell a deeper story. A connection between the brutal dictator and this talented singer that goes back nearly ten years.

Here’s what you need to know about the latest victim of this brutal regime…

1. Hyon Was Accused of Making and Selling Porno Movies

Hyon was arrested and murdered alongside other members of the country’s popular Unhasu Orchestra and Wangjaesan Light Music Band. All of those apprehended are understood to have been executed by firing squad. A source in South Korea told newspaper The Chosunilbo:

They were executed with machine guns while the key members of the Unhasu Orchestra, Wangjaesan Light Band and Moranbong Band as well as the families of the victims looked on.

The group included dancers, singers and musicians. It’s alleged that they had recorded sex scenes that occurred between the group and begun selling them. Reports indicate that the tapes were sold in China.

A YouTube search (warning graphic images) for her name returned these images that claim to be Hyon and taken from her alleged porno movie:

2. It’s Rumored that She Was Having an Illicit Affair With Kim Jong-Un

Kim Jong-Un during a television performance by Hyon Song-Wol (Chosun Media)

Kim Jong-Un dated Hyon around ten years ago, before he was married, the pair are reported by The Independent to have known each other since their teens. The Daily Telegraph reported in 2012 that the two met while Kim Jong-Un was on vacation from his boarding school in Berne, Switzerland. The dictator was told to break of his relationship with Hyon by his late-father Kim Jong-Il. Later Hyon married a soldier. The Daily Telegraph reports that she had a baby with a military officer. There are rumors that Hyon and Kim Jong-Un carried on an affair after Kim Jong-Il’s sudden death in December 2011, even though both were married to different people.

At one point in 2012, Hyon accompanied Kim Jong-Un to his father’s tomb, according to The Independent. She first disappeared from public life in 2006, reports South Korean newspaper Joongan Daily. This coincides with the time it was made clear that Kim Jong-Un was his father’s preferred successor to the North Korean throne. The paper goes on to state that she was seen in public in March 2012 for the first time in seven years at an International Woman’s Day event in Pyongyang, the news outlet says she was “heavily pregnant.”

Kim Jong-Un’s wife, Ri Sol-ju, who was at one time a member of the Unhasu Orchestra. A theory ventured by The Daily Telegraph is that Ri did not approve of Hyon. Kim Jong-Un’s marriage to Ri only became public in late July 2012, less than a month after images of the despot and Hyon Song-wol were made public. CNN reports that Ri is from North Korea’s “political elite.”

3. She Was Known For Her Patriotic Songs

Hyon was famous throughout North Korea for singing patriotic songs that celebrated Kim Jong-Un and his dynasty. In 2012, the despotic leader was seen at one of Hyon’s performance were she sang Disney songs, a PR event designed to show Kim Jong Un’s Openness to the west. There were reports that she had been given a high-ranks arts ministry position in the government in 2012. Buzzfeed lists some of her most popular songs that include: “Footsteps of Soldiers” and “I Love Pyongyang.”

But none are more popular than her 2005 hit: “Excellent Horse Like Lady.”

The translated words of the mega-hit read, according to NPR:

“our factory comrades say in jest,
“why they tell me i am a virgin on a stallion
“after a full day’s work i still have energy left
“my skills are truly like lightening they say
“they say i am a virgin on a stallion
“yet again today i was the first to leave for work
“apparently my name was in the paper
“in a xx time
“an award given to youth who live in flight
“they say i am a virgin on a stallion
“the party era is teeming with creation
“a new name they present to youth
“mounting a stallion the dear leader gave me
“all my life i will live to uphold his name
“they say i am a virgin on a stallion
“mounting a stallion my dear leader gave me
“all my life i will live to uphold his name”

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4. The North Koreans Aren’t Commenting

There is no mention of the arrests or executions on North Korea’s English language news agency web site for August 29. It’s normal that North Korea stays quiet about instances of human rights abuses.

5. The Group Were Also Holding Bibles

The group also had Christian bibles in their possession. As a result of this they were all treated as political dissidents. Toshimitsu Shigemura, a professor at Tokyo’s Waseda University and an authority on North Korean affairs, told The Daily Telegraph that:

If these people had only made pornographic videos, then it is simply not believable that their punishment was execution. If these people had only made pornographic videos, then it is simply not believable that their punishment was execution. There is a political reason behind this. Or, as Kim’s wife once belonged to the same group, it is possible that these executions are more about Kim’s wife.

It’s now reported that the victim’s families were also imprisoned in labor camps due to the country’s guilt by association law.