The Greatest Show In North Korea

The Arirang Mass Games are a spectacle worthy of North Korea. They haven't been held since 2013, and I saw them from the VIP box back in 2009, but I won't soon forget the overwhelming feeling of so much going on all at once. I guess that fits right in with Communism and socialist ideals - making the individual feel tiny compared to that of the state. Or in this case, compared to that of the 100,000 performers.

In what would seem to be the longest running, massively choreographed show, calling it the games seems a bit of a mismatch. There's not exactly any competition going on, but it is fair to say that there are many acrobatic type performances that would qualify as sport. Semantics aside, I wonder if Arirang will ever return or if it's one for the history books? Time will tell.

The mass performance of Arirang.