🎤👀 Both of these kids are talented singers, but their performances are shaped by two completely different worlds. 🌏 One is trained under strict discipline, while the other develops in a more expressive environment. The result? A striking contrast you won’t expect. 👀
Watch to see how political and cultural environments influence the way kids sing!
Video script:
Today, let's compare how North Korean and South Korean kids sing.
This is a topic I've wanted to talk about for a while. Kids are like a blank slate when they're born, but after growing up in different social, political, and cultural environments, they develop in completely different ways. Let's start by watching this well-known clip of a North Korean girl, Kim Sol Mae.
[Video Clip]
This little girl takes singing very seriously—she's adorable, talented, and has a bright voice. Every movement, every detail is carefully crafted. Her eye contact, hand gestures—they’ve clearly been rehearsed many times until they became fixed. In other words, if she were to perform again, she'd probably sing and move in exactly the same way each time.
That means, aside from memorizing the lyrics and singing the melody correctly, all the gestures, expressions, and details were likely taught by her instructors. I usually call this forced or artificial/fake emotion. My definition of this is:
✅ When a performer doesn’t fully understand, believe in, or feel connected to the song’s message, yet still tries to "act" emotional.
✅ When someone, especially as a child, sees their teachers or other singers perform this way, assumes it's the right way, and copies it, eventually forming a habit of thinking, "This is how performances should look."
This type of performance might seem technically impressive, but it lacks real connection and interaction with the audience. I've always believed that singing is essentially about communicating with the audience—you're telling a story, but through melody. However, when a performance becomes artificial, it means the performer isn’t truly engaging with the audience but is instead focused on adding unnecessary expressions, movements, or tones that the song’s message doesn’t relate. Even with great technique and a powerful voice, it’s hard to truly move people this way because it becomes a one-sided performance—or worse, just self-indulgence.
Now, let’s watch another clip of a North Korean girl singing:
[Video Clip]
Her expressions, gestures, and movements are all perfectly trained. Her vocal technique is strong—her voice is powerful, and she holds long notes steadily. But we all know that the content she’s singing about is probably something she hasn’t personally experienced. Instead, she’s probably been taught to believe in it and sing it in a certain way.
Try this yourself—hold that kind of big smile for a few minutes. Your face will start to feel stiff and tired, right? So that’s not real happiness.
These expressions can easily be replicated onto another child. If you put several kids together, their performances will look completely uniform. But is it real? No, it's not.
So, when we sing or speak, we should also reflect on whether we’ve unconsciously picked up certain "performance habits" just because we’ve seen broadcasters or singers do them. If you notice this in yourself, ask:
"Do I actually talk like this in real life?"
Making this adjustment can help you sound more natural when you sing or speak.
Now, let’s take a look at how South Korean kids sing. Historically, both North and South Korea shared the same cultural roots, but under different political and cultural systems, children’s "blank slates" have been shaped very differently.
Little Goddess Jo Yi Hyun – ‘If You Don’t Dream’ [Video Clip]
She’s also extremely talented, has a strong voice, and her pitch and pronunciation are excellent. But the key difference? She doesn’t have excessive movements or overly exaggerated facial expressions.
In everyday conversation, we don’t use exaggerated facial expressions or unnecessary movements. That’s why her performance feels more real & natural—there’s no added artificial emotion. When you take away all the extra, forced elements, what’s left is a natural child.
Her singing feels like she’s sharing her thoughts with the audience. Even though her technical skills might not be as polished as the North Korean kids', her delivery feels more genuine and emotionally engaging.
When kids sing like this, you can hear that they’re actually relaxed and happy.
So, for parents with young kids learning to sing, it’s worth paying attention to whether they add unnecessary performance habits. Kids who learn these habits early on might grow up believing, "I have to sing with this kind of voice/tone to sound right," which can be a hard mindset to change later.
If you feel that your singing or speaking sounds unnatural, or if you’re unsure about how your child is being taught to sing, feel free to subscribe to my channel. You can also check out my book "The Standout Voice Performance" or learn more about my voice training programs.
The biggest difference in my one-on-one coaching is that we don’t start with too many technical skills—we first help students find their natural voice, then introduce techniques. This way, you can achieve a natural, immersive, and professionally polished voice.
If you’re interested, check the link below for more details.
That’s it for today! Let me know in the comments—what do you think about these kids' performances? Have you ever noticed "forced performance habits" in yourself? Looking forward to your thoughts—see you next time!