Mass Games North Korea | Official DPRK Video (Glorious Country)

Official Mass Games 2018 video NOT produced by me, but DPRK produced. I didn't see it available to buy on DVD but this is the video that plays in the Foreign Languages Bookstore in Pyongyang, and I asked the ladies that work there to get it to me on USB.

The Mass Games in North Korea is truly a spectacle, and I ask you to understand it with an open mind. Below, I address the issue quite directly, and I hope that you can also see things from all angles.

Many are concerned with the human rights issues in the mass games. (North Korea and human rights issues - no, really?) And whilst I think that you can't ignore these issues, and they are very important, it's also important to consider all aspects, and come in with a fresh mind. Basically, imagine it's NOT North Korea we're talking about here.

Forcing small children to do something they don't want to doesn't sit comfortably with... anyone, really - right? But... Look back to when you were a kid. The number of performances you were made to do at school or during extracurricular activities... Probably not comparable to the scale of this, but there were still things you were made to take part in, right? Some of you may have LOVED performing. Some of you HATED it. You still had to do it.

I think that's at least definitely true of some of these kids, too. Some will love performing in general. Some will love the honour of performing in the mass games (it's a great honour). Some will HATE it.

The extent to which they are made to practice and perform not only takes them out of school for a few months at a time, but it also is intense practice. So, whilst they might learn some skills and teamwork (teamwork being one of the main reasons for such mass games), they miss out on education, and the training is intense.

So that's my two cents on the mass games in North Korea!

It truly is an incredible performance, the largest gymnastics display in the world. Incredible choreography and incredible performances. But to what expense? Well, I'll let you decide that. I've given my thoughts!


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