Kim Thaek Song was a magician widely known across the country in the 1970s, when the DPRK was greeting a golden age in the sector of art and literature, to the admiration of the world.
Before his days, magicians entertained spectators by simple tricks involving sleight of hand. But Kim greatly influenced magic to develop into a powerful art form that promotes the creative abilities and intellectual faculties of the people.
He put on stage more than 200 magic pieces, such as A flower basket, Rich apple harvest, and Silk cloth cascades , and won prizes at several international magic festivals.
He is the winner of Kim Il Sung Prize, a Labour Hero, and a People’s Artiste.
After he retired from stage, Kim took up his post as the head of the magic department at the Pyongyang Acrobatic School under the National Acrobatic Troupe, and has so far produced a lot of magicians.
Among his disciples are his two sons.
Kim Chol, the eldest, cut his conspicuous figure in the sleight-of-hand magic, and Kim Kwang Chol, the younger, was special in the use of psychology.
They made strenuous efforts to materialize their father’s view on magic that it should be the art form to depict life in a lifelike and beautiful way.
They produced a lot of magic pieces that were greeted with big applause at home and abroad.
They both won Kim Il Sung Prize and the title of People’s Artiste.
At present, Chol leads the magic department of the National Acrobatic Troupe, and Kwang Chol is a director and also performs on stage.
The tradition of the magicians’ family has passed down to the third generation.
Kim Ju Song and Kim Kwang Song are grandsons of Kim Thaek Song. Though with short acting careers of 3-4 years, they have already staged their own magic pieces, such as On the water and Alongside the bus , which enjoy great popularity.
They aspire to employ the latest achievements of science and technology in magic performance.
What runs through this family for three generations is the desire to raise magic to a higher stage with continuous innovation, bold creation and further progress.
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