The Grand Mass Gymnastics and Artistic Performance Arirang (), also known as the Arirang Mass Games, or the Arirang Festival is a

mass gymnastics Mass games, or mass gymnastics, are a form of performing arts or gymnastics in which large numbers of performers take part in a highly regimented performance that emphasizes group dynamics rather than individual prowess. North Korea Mass ...

and artistic festival held in the

Rungrado 1st of May Stadium The Rungrado 1st of May Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium occupying an area of on the island Rŭngrado, Pyongyang, North Korea. It opened on 1 May 1989, with its first major event being the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students. It ...

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

. The games usually take place in August or September. The Arirang Mass Games were held annually between 2002 and 2013, with the exception of 2006. After a five-year hiatus, Mass Games returned for a performance entitled 'The Glorious Country' in 2018. According to the

Russian News Agency "TASS" The Russian News Agency TASS, or simply TASS, is a Russian state-owned news agency founded in 1904. It is the largest Russian news agency and one of the largest news agencies worldwide. TASS is registered as a Federal State Unitary Enterprise ...

, "Arirang is a gymnastics and artistic festival, known as mass games. The extravaganza unfolds an epic story of how the Arirang nation of Korea, a country of morning calm, in the Orient put an end to the history of distress and rose as a dignified nation with the song 'Arirang'. The Arirang performance has been included in the Guinness Book of Records."

History

The name refers to "

Arirang ''Arirang'' ( ) is a Korean folk song. There are about 3,600 variations of 60 different versions of the song, all of which include a refrain similar to "arirang, arirang, arariyo" (""). It is estimated that the song is more than 600 years old ...

", a Korean folk story about a young couple who are torn apart, here intended to represent the

division of Korea The division of Korea began at the end of World War II on 2 September 1945, with the establishment of a Soviet occupation zone and a US occupation zone. These zones developed into separate governments, named the Democratic People's Republic of ...

. The festival was held annually between 2002 and 2013, with the exception of 2006. In 2007,

Roh Moo-hyun Roh Moo-hyun (, ; 1 September 1946 – 23 May 2009) was a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the ninth president of South Korea from 2003 to 2008. Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for ...

became the first South Korean President to attend the games during the

2007 inter-Korean summit The 2007 Inter-Korean summit meeting was held between October 2 and October 4, 2007, in Pyongyang, between President Roh Moo-hyun of the Republic of Korea and Kim Jong Il of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). It is the second Inter- ...

. The mass games were not held in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. In recent years, foreign tourists have been allowed to watch one of the many performances. The mass games returned after a five-year hiatus, taking place from September 9 through September 30, 2018. The new performance was called "The Glorious Country" (). On September 19, South Korean President

Moon Jae-in Moon Jae-in (, ; born January 24, 1953) is a South Korean politician and former lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea from 2017 to 2022. Before his presidency, he served as the senior secretary for civil affairs and the Chief ...

attended the Mass Games with Supreme Leader

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...

and addressed the crowd of 150,000. The 2019 edition was named "People's Country" or "The Land of The People" (). A further mass games event was scheduled to begin on August 15, 2020, playing weekly until the October 10. These dates were chosen to coincide with the 75th anniversaries of Liberation Day and

Party Foundation Day The Party Foundation Day () is an annual Public holidays in North Korea, public holiday in North Korea marking the 10 October 1945 foundation of the "Central Organizing Committee of the Communist Party of North Korea" (북조선공산당중앙� ...

. The event was eventually held from October 11 through October 31, and was entitled "Great Leadership" (). Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the country's borders were closed to foreigners at the time. There were no mass games in 2021.

Iconography

The Mass Games possess an important ideological character setting out the legacy and political narratives of the North Korean state, with emphasis placed upon

Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), also called the Korean Workers' Party (KWP), is the sole ruling party of North Korea. Founded in 1949 from a merger between the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of South Korea, the WPK is ...

, its armed forces,

Kim Il-sung Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he led as its first supreme leader from its establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. Afterwards, he was ...

and

Kim Jong-il Kim Jong Il (born Yuri Kim; 16 February 1941 or 1942 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from the death of his father Kim Il Sung in 1994 until his death in 2011, when he was ...

. These messages may not be clear to foreign spectators, who are not aware of North Korean iconography: a rising sun symbolizes Kim Il-sung. When a gun is shown, it signifies the gun which Kim Il-sung gave to his son Kim Jong-il. The colour red, particularly in flowers, stands for the working class, and the colour purple and red flowers represent Kim Il-sung (as the flower

Kimilsungia Kimilsungia is a Hybrid (biology), hybrid orchid cultivar of the genus ''Dendrobium''. It is a Cloning, clone of a plant that was created in Indonesia by orchid breeder Carl Ludwig C. L. Bundt, who in 1964 registered the grex (horticulture), g ...

is a purple

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

and the flower

Kimjongilia Kimjongilia is a flower named after the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. It is a hybrid cultivar of tuberous begonia, registered as ''Begonia'' × ''tuberhybrida'' 'Kimjongilhwa'. When Kim Jong Il died in December 2011, the flower was us ...

is a red

begonia ''Begonia'' is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Begoniaceae. The genus contains more than 2,000 different plant species. The Begonias are native to moist subtropical and tropical climates. Some species are commonly grown ...

Participants

From as young as five years old, North Korean citizens are selected based on skill level to serve for the Arirang Festival for many years. In most cases this will be the way of life for them until retirement.

Events

The opening event of the two-month festival are the mass games, which are famed for the huge mosaic pictures created by more than 30,000 trained school children, each holding up coloured cards, in an event known in the West as a

card stunt Card stunts are a planned, coordinated sequence of actions performed by an audience, whose members raise cards that, in the aggregate, create a recognizable image. The images they create can range widely and, through careful planning, the same ...

, accompanied by complex and highly choreographed group routines performed by tens of thousands of

gymnasts Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sho ...

and dancers.

World record

In August 2007, the Arirang Mass Games were recognized by

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

as the largest gymnastic display with 100,090 participants at the

May Day Stadium The Rungrado 1st of May Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium occupying an area of on the island Rŭngrado, Pyongyang, North Korea. It opened on 1 May 1989, with its first major event being the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students. It ...

in Pyongyang.

References

External links

* Werner Kranwetvogel with Koryo Tour
Massgames Pictures

DPRK 360 Video and 360 VR of the Mass Games
* Steve Gongbr>Arirang Festival, North Korea
2008

1stopkorea.com
''Mass Gymnastics and Artistic Performance "Arirang"'' picture album
at

Naenara Naenara () is the official web portal of the North Korean government. History Naenara was the first website in North Korea, and was created in 1996. Usage Naenara carries publications such as '' The Pyongyang Times'', ' magazine, '' Korea ...

''Mass Gymnastics in Korea'' picture album
at Naenara

{{Coord, 39, 2, 58.47, N, 125, 46, 30.79, E, region:KP_type:landmark_scale:3700, display=t Propaganda in North Korea Festivals in North Korea Culture of North Korea Tourist attractions in Pyongyang April Sport in North Korea Sport in Pyongyang Culture in Pyongyang Politics and sports Sports festivals in North Korea Annual sporting events in North Korea Recurring sporting events established in 2002 2002 establishments in North Korea Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2013 2013 disestablishments in North Korea