Girl bands

All female bands from Pyongyang are performing in Chinese border towns, looking to provide genuine entertainment rather than the novelty value long offered by North Korean restaurants and bands in Asia -- which provide the diplomatically isolated government with much-needed hard currency. Like many Chinese hotels, the Kunlun International hotel has rock bottom prices. It also boasts rooms with round beds and dance poles, and an all-female North Korean rock band who belt out "Anthem of the Worker's Party" and other socialist classics every night. Young and good-looking, the seven-piece group bears a striking similarity to the Moranbong band, a North Korean musical phenomenon that have been accorded huge success since their members were hand-selected by leader Kim Jong-Un. All women, they are radically different from previous musical offerings, with fast tempos and disco styling. They delivered ear-splitting renditions of traditional Korean folk songs and patriotic tunes, complete with howling electric guitars, heavy drums and thumping baselines.