2006年VOA标准英语-Female Band Hopes North Korean Pop Stylings Wil

By Kurt Achin
Seoul
30 July 2006

In the struggle for pop music fame, it helps to have a unique selling point, especially in a saturated¹ media market like South Korea's. An all-girl group of musical hopefuls in Seoul like to teach the world to sing - North Korean style.

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Most up-and-coming pop bands here in South Korea do not feature an accordion² as one of their lead instruments. This band features two.

On an afternoon of pouring rain, five attractive young women aged³ 19 to 28 gather in a small dance studio in southern Seoul to practice their music.

Their unique sound reflects a unique common identity: all five women defected from North Korea within the last three years.

They call themselves "Dallae" - naming their band after a sweet berry plant that Koreans of North and South harvest in the springtime.

As trained musicians and dancers back in the North, the women say they did not suffer the same type of severe hunger and deprivation⁴ that drives so many thousands of other North Koreans to leave their country. Most of them defected in order to join a family member who had already made the difficult and dangerous journey to the South.

Twenty-eight-year-old Han Ok Jeong says nowadays, she lives a dual⁵ life.

Han says in her private life, she tries to blend in with South Korea's modern and fast-paced capitalist society. But in her music, she wants to stand out as a North Korean.

Dallae accentuates⁶ its traditional Northern sound in its first CD, set to debut⁷ in South Korea in August.

This single, "Mot Jaengi" - which translates loosely as "Stylish⁸ Guy" - is based on a form of North Korean music called a "trot⁹." However, as the title indicates, the lyrics¹⁰ tell the story of a Korean woman's love for a man who wears the latest trendy fashions.

Such a song would almost certainly be forbidden in the North, where the Communist elite¹¹ tolerates absolutely no music it deems to be subversive¹².

The women say they did not know each other before arriving in the South, and were brought together by their manager and producer.

Though they do not specify¹³ exactly how they came to South Korea, nearly all North Korean defectors cross into China, then pass into a Southeast Asian country before making the journey here. If they are caught by Chinese authorities, they risk being sent home, where they are likely to face severe punishment.

The Dallae members say they enjoy their new life here in the South, but 19-year-old Kang Yoo Eun says there are still some things she has trouble getting used to.

Kang says she is always shocked when she sees South Korean boys and girls with their arms around each other in public. She says doing that, or even holding hands, would be unthinkable back in the North.

The women say if they become rich and famous, they would like to find a way to help improve social welfare for people in their impoverished¹⁴ homeland. Their ultimate dream, they say, is to return home and see family members they left behind and maybe even give a performance in the northern half of a reunified Korea.

1 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液

2 accordion   

n.手风琴；adj.可折叠的

参考例句：

• The accordion music in the film isn't very beautiful.这部影片中的手风琴音乐不是很好。
• The accordion music reminds me of my boyhood.这手风琴的乐声让我回忆起了我的少年时代。

3 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

4 deprivation   

n.匮乏；丧失；夺去，贫困

参考例句：

• Many studies make it clear that sleep deprivation is dangerous.多实验都证实了睡眠被剥夺是危险的。
• Missing the holiday was a great deprivation.错过假日是极大的损失。

5 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

6 accentuates   

v.重读( accentuate的第三人称单数 )；使突出；使恶化；加重音符号于

参考例句：

• The dark frame accentuates the brightness of the picture. 深色画框更显出画的明亮色彩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her sunburnt skin accentuates the fairness of her hair. 她那晒黑了的皮肤突出了她的一头金发。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

8 stylish   

adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的

参考例句：

• He's a stylish dresser.他是个穿着很有格调的人。
• What stylish women are wearing in Paris will be worn by women all over the world.巴黎女性时装往往会引导世界时装潮流。

9 trot   

n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧

参考例句：

• They passed me at a trot.他们从我身边快步走过。
• The horse broke into a brisk trot.马突然快步小跑起来。

10 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

11 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

12 subversive   

adj.颠覆性的，破坏性的；n.破坏份子，危险份子

参考例句：

• She was seen as a potentially subversive within the party.她被看成党内潜在的颠覆分子。
• The police is investigating subversive group in the student organization.警方正调查学生组织中的搞颠覆阴谋的集团。

13 specify   

vt.指定，详细说明

参考例句：

• We should specify a time and a place for the meeting.我们应指定会议的时间和地点。
• Please specify what you will do.请你详述一下你将做什么。

14 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》