Arirang Mass Games

North Korean Mass Games have been increasingly known world wide for being impressive shows involving literally tens of thousands of participants. So what exactly are the Mass Games?

They are held in North Korea tell the story of the DPRK's history. Their struggle against the Japanese, the Korean War and the reconstruction of a country completely devastated by it. They are held in the second biggest stadium in the world (the Rungrado May Day Stadium) and include acrobatics, live music and even taekwondo demonstrations.

On the main pitch there are people performing acrobatic shows, dances, martial arts, where as in the background there is a stand with 20 thousand middle school students each holding a large book. They show a page of the book to the audience and each page forms a tiny "pixel" of the whole stand's picture which in fact is a gigantic mosaic. Students then flip pages in their books according to instructions given by the sound of a drum. As each student flips a new page the overall picture created by everyone will vary. Each student can have up to 170 pages in their book.

Coordination is critical, whether it be for the people in the stands or those performing on the field. This event stresses the importance of collectiveness over individuality and every single aspect of it is breathtaking, from the impressive on the field performances, to the giant mosaics to the atmosphere created by the local audience inside and outside of the stadium.

People literally practice for months for this grandious event, and seeing them publicly do so in the streets of Pyongyang the months prior to when they start. Right before the beginning of each show, there are crowds in the streets and outside the stadium singing and marching together creating an exhilarating ambiance which ends in 90 minutes of pure excitement inside the stadium.

Shows are held from 7 pm and last 90 minutes.

Please click on our North Korea News to go from our Arirang Mass Games page to updates in the DPRK.