GANGNEUNG, South Korea — Just hours after staging a military parade featuring Army tanks and goose-stepping soldiers making their way through its capital, North Korea ended a day of pageantry Thursday on a decidedly softer note, with an evening of sentimental pop music and cultural outreach in South Korea.
For many of the South Koreans who attended, it was their first time seeing North Koreans in person. Some older concertgoers wiped tears away.
“My heart was thumping,” said Lee Kang-joon, 64, a taxi driver from Gangneung who attended the concert with his wife. “Before, based on what I saw on television, I thought North Koreans were like country bumpkins.