Eye Candy

See It to Believe It: North Korea's Stunning Mass Games

by Debbie Pappyn and David De Vleeschauwer

A show of unity, discipline, and immense proportions. All photos by David De Vleeschauwer.

Until we read Classe Touriste's story about How to Get into North Korea, we had never even heard of the massive Mass Games. The photos are amazing. (There's a reason Classe Touriste is one of Fathom's Best Travel Blogs of 2014.)

PYONGYANG, North Korea – More than 100,000 participants train for months to perform weekly from August to September for their compatriots and their leader. The Arirang Festival, or Mass Games, is a performance so grand, so graceful, so mind-blowing that you have to see it to believe it. Until you can get yourself into North Korea, you can click thought the photos that Classe Touriste took when they were there.

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A State of Mind: The British documentary, produced with help from Koryo Tours founder Nick Bonner, follows two young child gymnasts training for the 2003 Mass Games.

And marvel at perfect choreography.

A leading DPRK attraction.

What the locals call the event.

Not one foot out of place.

The show features more than 100,000 participants. The background image is made by people holding colored cards.

Everything planned. Everything executed perfectly.

20,000 people. One big mosaic.

The picture isn't complete without everyone in place.

Serenity and strength.

A deep red for the region.

A treat for the eyes.

Performers in the back and foreground doing their part.

A method of storytelling through color, coordination, and scale of the highest magnitude.

MORE ON FATHOM

How to Get into North Korea
Monuments and Mealtimes: Scenes of North Korea

We make every effort to ensure the information in our articles is accurate at the time of publication. But the world moves fast, and even we double-check important details before hitting the road.