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South Korean President Moon Jae-in visited Pyongyang in September of last year and attended a mass gymnastics performance. Chinese President Xi Jinping also watched a similar show at Rungrado May Day Stadium when he was in the North for a state visit in June this year. 

North Korea has always held this mass gymnastics and artistic show as part of the welcome reception for important foreign guests. Today, we’ll talk about why the large-scale group performance is considered to be so important in North Korea with Professor Chung Eun-chan at the Institute for Unification Education. 

In North Korea, the mass gymnastics show is one of the most important political events aimed at demonstrating the nation’s collectivism and social virtues. It is an extraordinary spectacle of gymnastics, dance and artistic performance, with tens of thousands of people deployed for the program. 

North Korea believes that the show started from “Flower Gymnastics,” which was created by the nation’s founder Kim Il-sung as part of activities for the agricultural revolution in Manchuria in the 1930s, when Kim participated in the armed struggle against the Japanese colonial rule of Korea. On September 19, 1961, North Korea held a group gymnastics show with the title “The Era of the Workers’ Party” at Moranbong Stadium in Pyongyang. That is considered to be the original form of the North Korean-style mass gymnastics performance. 

North Korea defines this mass performance as a form of comprehensive mass sport that combines athletic techniques with ideological and artistic content. Since Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945, North Korea has created some 80 such programs for the nation’s major anniversaries and holidays. In the North, it represents more than just a mass game. 

The word “mass” implies “group.” North Korea uses the show to highlight collectivism, one of the typical characteristics of socialist states. On the surface, the performance is designed to help teenagers and workers enhance their physical strength. More importantly, it is used as a means of fostering a high degree of organization, discipline, ideology and collectivism rather than individualism. Unlike general mass games in Western countries, the North Korean-style places great emphasis on its leader and history as well as political ideology and instills this in its people. 

The key of the propaganda spectacle show is to display the superiority and legitimacy of the North Korean regime both inside and outside the nation. Through this event, Pyongyang seeks to strengthen collectivism and internal solidarity. 

As the show is starkly different from other mass games, its format is also different. Mass games, in general, feature performers doing gymnastics or building human towers to the beat of music. But in North Korea, well-trained gymnasts and dancers move in perfectly synchronized forms on the ground. 

In the background, people in the stands flip through colorful cards to create a series of gigantic mosaic images, while music is played to ensure striking uniformity in the overall atmosphere. The flip-card part was added to the gymnastics performance in 1955, and the scale of the event has become larger since 2000 to feature artistic performances as well. 

The show was named “Arirang” in 2002, when the huge event involving 100-thousand participants drew worldwide attention. As we can see, the format of the show has evolved over time, but what about its content? 

Of course, the theme has changed as well, since the show has revealed the ideological guidelines of different leaders. North Korea held a mass performance of gymnastics and art entitled “Glorious Country” in September of last year to celebrate the 70^th anniversary of the regime’s foundation. At the time, a synchronized drone light show displayed the letters “Glorious Country.” In addition to drones, lasers and other state-of-the-art imaging technologies were all mobilized in an apparent move to demonstrate North Korea’s commitment to science and technology, a major shift from previous shows that mostly dealt with anti-U.S. sentiment and the North’s nuclear weapons development. During South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s Pyongyang visit, the performance emphasized the themes of peace, prosperity and unification. In short, the North Korean show has reflected the different times and circumstances. 

The “Glorious Country” show, which was attended by the South Korean president last September, was free of anti-U.S. slogans but focused more on the theme of inter-Korean relations instead. There were card-flipping scenes displaying the phrase “A New Era of Peace, Prosperity and Unification” and an enormous picture of a Korean Peninsula flag. North Korea also aired a video of a summit between the leaders of the two Koreas. 

When Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Pyongyang this past June, the show consisted of four chapters and was dedicated to highlighting the achievements of socialist North Korea and the traditional friendship between the North and China. Xi was also treated to a large flip-card image of his face produced by thousands of North Korean performers. In a word, the show served as a diplomatic tool, especially to the benefit of the Chinese president. 

But it’s important to note that this massive gymnastics performance requires a lot of time and effort. 

The show is participated in mostly by schoolchildren and artists. They have to take part in the political event, whether they like it or not. It’s not a question of liking. If they say they will not join in, they are subject to ideological verification. 

Rehearsals for the show usually last six months or longer. Students mobilized for the flip-card part should remain in their place for hours once the show begins because the absence of even a single card may spoil the whole scene. Some students hold their bladder for so long that they suffer from bladder infections. In some extreme cases, students are taken to the hospital as the training is too rigorous to endure. 

It is simply unbelievable that 100-thousand people perform group dances and a card stunt that does not permit the smallest error. 

For the flawless, highly-regimented show, students have to stop studying for about six months and only concentrate on practicing. The intensive training even causes some students to pass out. North Korea has mobilized children who are as young as four to five years old in recent years, sparking criticism over a violation of children’s rights. 

The United Nations Commission of Inquiry report says that North Korean children who are selected to join the mass gymnastics performance are forced to sacrifice their school hours and practice all day long. 

According to the report, some students fail to perform their roles properly because they cannot withstand the grueling training. Students that wail are punished physically or have to participate in an extra practice session in the evening. The report points out that the hard training is therefore a danger to children’s health and happiness. However despite the criticism, the North is unlikely to abandon its propaganda show. 

For the North Korean regime, the extravagant gymnastics show has been used as a propaganda and diplomatic tool and has also generated economic profits as a tourism product. Given these benefits and the great pride that North Korea takes in the grand performance, the nation will probably maintain it as a state event. At the same time, however, students and officials involved in the event will continue to suffer. 

Koryo Tours, a travel company specializing in tourism to North Korea, said in May that this year’s grand mass gymnastics and artistic performance in the North would be held from June to October and that tickets were 800 euros for a VIP seat and 500 euros for a first-class seat. 

Pyongyang has been proud to stage the show in front of foreign guests. Now, it is using it as a means of earning foreign money. 

Amidst growing criticism over violations of human rights, the North is still expected to continue with the massive performance. 

(Next week, we’ll learn about North Korean movies.)