Mass games
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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 games are now performed only in the
According to
Developing mass gymnastics is important in training schoolchildren to be fully developed communist people. To be a fully developed communist man, one must acquire a revolutionary ideology, the knowledge of many fields, rich cultural attainments and a healthy and strong physique. These are the basic qualities required of a man of the communist type. Mass gymnastics play an important role in training schoolchildren to acquire these communist qualities. Mass gymnastics foster particularly healthy and strong physiques, a high degree of organization, discipline and collectivism in schoolchildren. The schoolchildren, conscious that a single slip in their action may spoil their mass gymnastic performance, make every effort to subordinate all their thoughts and actions to the collective.
— Kim Jong-il, On Further Developing Mass Gymnastics: Talk to mass Gymnastics Producers. April 11th 1987[1]
Mass gymnastics exhibit the North Korean idea of "ilsim-dangyeol" (single-minded unity), as well as nationalism.[2][3]
Outside North Korea
Guyana
Guyana under the leader
Europe
In Germany, Friedrich Ludwig Jahn developed a gymnastics method called Massenturnen. In 1860, in a bid to promote the sport he initiated the Massenturnen festival . The festival continues to exist to the present day.
Mass games developed alongside 19th century
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In
In Bulgaria, mass games were occasionally held during the Zname na mira ("Flag of Peace") international youth festivals. However, Bulgaria did not have a tradition of mass games, and performances were rare.
In Yugoslavia, similar activities called Slet were organized, and one of these events was the Relay of Youth. In Yugoslavia, participation in Slet events was voluntary.[5]
In East Germany, eight mass games called the GDR Gymnastics and Sports Festival were held in Leipzig. Participation in mass games in East Germany was voluntary, and the segments combined both Western and Eastern elements infused with German traditions.
Japan
In Japan, schools adopted German gymnastics and mass games were started. Between 1925 and 1945, mass games were played in Meiji Jingū Kyōgi Taikai (Meiji Shrine Sports Competition).
Uganda
Ugandan dictator Idi Amin was an admirer of North Korea's Mass Games.[2]
Current performances
Today, mass games are annually performed in
Arirang mass games were first performed in 2002 in Pyongyang's May Day Stadium and have been held every year since – between August and October and on one occasion in Spring. The show was on 4 times a week. Tourists from all over the World were welcomed to the DPRK during Mass Games.
The opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games may also be viewed as instances of mass games.[by whom?]
See also
- Turners
- A State of Mind – UK produced, award winning documentary by Koryo Tours and VeryMuchSo productions in 2002, about child gymnasts in training for the Mass Games
- Government-organized demonstration
- Propaganda in North Korea
- Spartakiad (Czechoslovakia)
- World Gymnaestrada
References
- "Mass Games in North Korea". Insight. 2005-10-04. CNN. Transcript.
- ^ Kim Jong-il (1987). On Further Developing Mass Gymnastics: Talk to Mass Gymnastics Producers April 11, 1987 (PDF). Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House. p. 1.
- ^ S2CID 164424248.
- S2CID 191491691.
- ^ "'Only a disciplined people can build a nation': North Korean Mass Games and Third Worldism in Guyana, 1980-1992 | the Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus". 26 January 2015.
- ^ Bojana Ceveljić and Ana Vujanović (5 December 2012). "Public Sphere by Performance". Katarina Popovic. p. 69. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
- ^ "History". SOKOL USA CHICAGO GYMNASTICS. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
- ^ Bednar, Charles and Sivak, Paul: The Sokols and Their Endeavor. 1948.
Further reading
- Song Mo Kim; Song Il Thak; Chol Man Kim (2002). Mass Gymnastics in Korea. Pyongyang: OCLC 499981837.
External links
- Full video of mass games, September 2013
- Site about mass gymnastics under communism
- Mass Games and North Korea photo gallery
- Professional photo series of the 2009 "Arirang" Massgames in North Korea
- Sarbatori comuniste in Deva (in Romanian)
- Mass Games in North Korea
- Mass Games film and specialist travel to mass games Koryo Tours is the company that produced the film on the mass games 'A State of Mind' video insert on this page
- What is a Sokol "Slet"?
- Arirang Mass Games 360 VR
- Images
- Videos
- Mass Game "Arirang" (September 16, 2012) on YouTube