It was ten years ago today / the Philharmonic was in Pyongyang to play.

Today is the 10-year anniversary of the New York Philharmonic's concert in Pyongyang. The concert was held at East Pyongyang Grand Theatre and Koryo Tours was there to witness the event.

Most notable was the Philharmonic's performance of the 'Aegukga' and the 'Star-Spangled Banner', the national anthems of the DPRK and USA, respectively, and of the traditional Korean ballad 'Arirang'. See below for clips of each.

Now a decade on and with a US travel restrictions in place, one can't help but wonder how long it will be before we see another cultural exchange between the DPRK and the US of this scale take place.

Yanggak Island Discs is a regular posting on songs from old North Korean vinyls and Korean music in general. Follow the Yanggak Island Discs Sound Cloud!