Mass Games, otherwise known as Arirang

I attened North Korea's Mass Games, called Arirang. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience; Mass Games are performed only in North Korea. Arirang is held in Pyongyang’s May Day Stadium, the largest stadium in the world, seating over 150 000 spectators. The May Day Stadium is a futuristic-looking venue. The May Day Stadium is a cavernous round building, with massive archways laid over the sides of the building. The May Day Stadium consequently resembles a weird alien spaceship. It is really quite interesting to look at.




We attended the opening ceremony of Arirang. Kim Jong Il usually attends the opening ceremony, but for some reason this year he didn’t make it. As a result of his absence, we were allowed to take pictures of the Games. A major ranking Party member gave a speech at the start of the games over loudspeakers echoing throughout the stadium. There were many high ranking North Koreans in attendance that night, we sat near their section. All of the men dressed in conservative suits and the women in traditional Korean dress. That being said, the rest of the audience was all smartly dressed. This was not your typical stadium-event, it was a real fancy show and people treated it seriously like they were at an upscale theatre.

The Mass Games is a spectacular extravaganza. Over 80 000 performers participate in Arirang, in a highly regimented show that emphasizes group dynamics rather than individual prowess. Each participant knows that the smallest mistake will ruin the group’s performance; they therefore surrender to the group. In this sense they become true Communists. Indeed, Mass Games is an exercise in ideological training. These performers move in perfect unison, as though they are one image.










Some of these pics are from my friend's collection, Giuseppe Cipriani (G.C.).





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Former U.S. Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, attended a Mass Games performance in 2000 stated that only a Communist dictator could get over 80 000 people to move together in perfect unison.








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The backdrop of the Mass Games is a huge mosaic that covers an entire side of the stadium. The backdrop details North Korea’s Socialist achievements and the country’s revolutionary history and spirit. Images of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il must also be portrayed with total devotion. The North Koreans call it the biggest picture in the world. The backdrop works by card-turners occupying the seats opposite the audience. Over 12 000 school children are used as card-turners. Each chosen school practices daily until perfection is achieved.

The following pictures show one small section of the mosaic. The first shows the students looking up from behind their placards; the second shows them hiding behind them.

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The following show the warm-up before the actual performance. The students are warming-up by chating out their school names (sounding more like military orders being screamed, very intimidating) and changing their placards in separate sections and groups at various times. The warm-up was a simple taste of what was to come during the performance.




The 2007 Mass Games portrayed the greatness of North Korea, the Juche Idea, Kim Il Sung, the North Korean people, and the hope for national reconciliation with South Korea (a recurring theme throughout North Korea). Apparently this year the organizers toned down the anti-American and anti-Japanese sentiments and downplayed the military aspects of the performance. But the Mass Games is already highly militarized; if it weren’t for the colourful outfits and scenes, it could easily have been a military extravaganza. This is similar to much of North Korean society, a society that considers itself still in wartime. The war with South Korea and the U.S.A. never officially ended, there was only a ceasefire; so the North Koreans still consider themselves at war.


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The stadium is lit up in colourful electronic lights, blaring and flashing everywhere. The open roof the stadium has numerous light displays hanging from its centre, held in place by more multi-coloured lights. This gives the illusion that there is an actual dome covering the stadium. Above the backdrop is a giant electronic torch atop of the building; it is ‘lit’ during the performance by a bright white star. Each side of the backdrop has a multi-leveled manicured garden covered in colourful lights and the years of Juche in block numbers: 1912 (Juche 1; Kim Il Sung’s birth year) on the left side; 2007 (Juche 95) on the right side.

Because it was the opening ceremony, the Mass Games was being filmed live by North Korean state television. Watching the state television at work was interesting in and of itself. In various sections throughout the stadium were the state television studio cameras catching the performance. The studio cameras were something out of 1950s Soviet Union. They were clunky, cumbersome, ancient cameras that were so big and long and old that I was shocked they were in use. Giant, and rusty, spotlights were slightly above the camera sections. It honestly looked like a movie set of a movie studio in the 1950s. Further, there were cameramen moving throughout the audience capturing the audiences reactions. The cameraman were dressed in military uniform, and were holding 1940s cameras that you hold on your shoulder and make those ‘click, click, clicking’ sounds as the film reel rolls. Behind the cameramen were other men carrying giant camera-lights to light the camera’s view. It honestly looked like something out of 1940s Nazi Germany. It was fascinating, but eerie.





We were all blown away by the Mass Games. Nicole admitted that, as a cynical individual, she herself was awed by the performance. We have never seen anything like it before; even an Olympics opening ceremony cannot compare to this spectacle.

The group performances were stunning; I have no idea how they would choreograph or prepare so perfectly. It is unbelievable to see tens of thousands of people moving in perfect unison. The backdrop was equally as impressive. The pictures formed were detailed, and some even ‘moved’. Because of its precision and detail, the backdrop looked like it could have been an electronic screen. Even the practice before the start of the Games was incredible. We arrived about half-an-hour before it began and were able to watch the card-turners practice their stuff. The card-turners had a whole special pre-show, creating images and changing the cards in groups all at different times. This created a jaw-dropping illusion of the opposite wall moving to threatening, militaristic shouts by the card-turners. It sounded like a military parade or inspection.




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Most of us attended Mass Games twice. Both nights the world’s largest stadium was packed full of spectators. On the second night, Kirsty and I were joking about what we would be in Arirang if such a thing were held in our countries. The most hilarious comment was that about the ‘egg’ characters. There is a scene in Arirang that celebrates the agricultural greatness and progress of North Korea and features dancers dressed in animal costumes, food costumes, and farmer costumes. Anyway, Kirsty thought it would be humiliating if you were asked what you did in Mass Games and if your response was ‘oh, I was an egg’. Especially when there are spectacular, colourful costumes, gowns, and uniforms that people wear, and then there are those stuck being eggs in the agricultural scene. Humiliating.