Samjiyon Band

Samjiyon Band
Background information
Origin	North Korea
Genres	Classical music
Years active	2009 (2009)–present
Members	50–60
Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl	삼지연악단
Hancha	三池淵樂團
Revised Romanization	Samjiyeon akdan
McCune–Reischauer	Samjiyŏn aktan

The Samjiyon Band (Korean: 삼지연악단; MR: Samjiyŏn aktan)^[1] is a North Korean classical music ensemble.

The Samjiyon Band performs traditional European classical music, instrumental, percussion, and sung pieces, ranging from orchestral to solos. It has been said that calling the "band" an orchestra would be more fitting. Uncommonly for a North Korean orchestra of its kind, the Samjiyon Band is led by a woman, Ri Sune. The band is part of the umbrella organization Mansudae Art Troupe.

The history of the band began in 2009 when North Korean leader Kim Jong Il ordered the band to be formed. Later, several members of the band joined in a new Moranbong Band. When the current leader Kim Jong Un began promoting the latter band, popularity of the Samjiyon Band began to decline. While live performances of the band are numerous, it is not clear if they have ever released any records.

It is currently unknown if the band has any relation to the Samjiyon Orchestra that performed at the start of the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. Multiple foreign observers, including officials from South Korea's Ministry of Unification, expect the two musical groups to be related someway.