Classic Korean Story “Tale Of Chun Hyang” Performed At Circus Theater In Pyongyang, North Korea

A North Korean acrobat, center in red, plays the female lead Song Chun Hyang during a theatrical performance of the classic Korean story “Tale of Chun Hyang” at the Pyongyang Circus Theater in Pyongyang, North Korea, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. The traditional folktale tells the love story of the daughter of a courtesan condemned to death for spurning the advances of a malicious official but saved by the upper-class aristocrat who truly loves her.

A North Korean acrobat walks a tight rope during a theatrical performance of the classic Korean story “Tale of Chun Hyang” at the Pyongyang Circus Theater in Pyongyang, North Korea, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012.

A North Korean acrobat who plays the female lead Song Chun Hyang is tortured during a theatrical performance of the classic Korean story “Tale of Chun Hyang” at the Pyongyang Circus Theater in Pyongyang, North Korea, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012.

North Korean soldiers applaud at the end of a theatrical performance of the classic Korean story “Tale of Chun Hyang” at the Pyongyang Circus Theater in Pyongyang, North Korea, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. <AP Photo/Ng Han Guan>