mass games - Blogs - Tripatini2024-03-29T10:46:16Zhttps://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/mass+gamesNorth Korea Travel: Mass Games in Pyongyanghttps://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/north-korea-travel-mass-games-in-pyongyang2011-08-14T17:09:09.000Z2011-08-14T17:09:09.000ZTripatinihttps://tripatini.com/members/Tripatini<div><p><em><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:small;">Part 3 of a four-part series by <a href="http://www.tripatini.com/profiles/profile/show?id=jthaliacunningham">J. Thalia Cunningham</a></span></em></p>
<p><br /><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:small;">My visit to North Korea centered around the annual Mass Games in the capital, Pyongyang. The <strong>Mass Games</strong>, or <strong>Arirang</strong>, were more amazing than anything I saw in the DPRK, and that really is saying something.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:small;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9008639252,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}9008639252,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="468" alt="9008639252?profile=original" /></a><br /></span></p>
<p><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><font face="ArialMT, sans-serif">Undoubtedly one of the greatest shows on earth, the Mass Games, which are not games at all, is a grand performance in a stadium that celebrates North Korea's national holidays. The 90-minute event pays homage to the Worker's Party, the military, DPRK founder Kim Il Sung, and <strong>Kim Jong Il</strong>. The latter, Kim Il Sung's son and the current leader of North Korea, does not lack for titles. Known as “Dear Leader,” he's the Chairman of the National Defense Commission</font></font> <font color="#000000"><font face="ArialMT, sans-serif"><i>and</i></font></font> <font color="#000000"><font face="ArialMT, sans-serif">the General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea.</font></font></font></p>
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<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9008638678,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><font face="ArialMT, sans-serif"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9008638678,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="468" alt="9008638678?profile=original" /></font></font></font></a></p>
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<p><font size="2"><b><font color="#000000"><font face="Arial, sans-serif">World's Greatest Spectacle</font></font></b></font></p>
<p><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><font face="Arial, sans-serif">In the Mass Games' dazzling depiction of North Korean history, 100,000 gymnasts, martial artists, dancers, singers, and acrobats of all ages perform one of the world’s most remarkable spectacles. Think about that number -- it’s like having everybody in Portland, Oregon, and, for good measure, Portland, Maine, singing and dancing for you for 1½ hours. What's more, background scenery is created by tens of thousands of students holding cards -- human pixels, as it were. They flash them – sometimes simultaneously, other times in a sequential wave -- for a total of 170 changes during the 90-minute performance.</font></font></font></p>
<p><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><font face="Arial, sans-serif">Guinness World Records notes that this is the largest such spectacle in the world. That's putting it mildly: The Mass Games make</font></font> <font color="#000000"><font face="ArialMT, sans-serif">the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing look like a dress rehearsal.</font></font></font></p>
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<p><font size="2"><b><font color="#000000"><font face="Arial, sans-serif">Photographs and the Mass Games</font></font></b></font></p>
<p><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><font face="Arial, sans-serif">Part 4 of this series explains how to visit North Korea without sprinting across the DMZ, but here's one practical matter for now: Having entered the DPRK and attended the Mass Games with a proper tour operator, we got to sit in fairly good seats, a section that included both visitors from other countries and North Koreans. We'd been told we couldn't bring more than a 300mm lens into the country, but when I saw the Mass Games – and some of the other tourists' cameras -- I was sorry I had followed the rules.</font></font></font></p>
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<p><font color="#000000"><font face="ArialMT, sans-serif"><font size="2"><font face="Arial, sans-serif"><font size="1"><i><b>For Part 1 of this series <a href="http://www.tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/north-korea-travel-pyongyang-f">click here</a>.</b></i></font></font></font></font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font face="ArialMT, sans-serif"><font size="1"><i><font face="Arial, sans-serif">Photos by Thalia Cunningham</font></i></font></font></font></p>
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<p><font color="#000000"><font face="ArialMT, sans-serif"><font size="1"><i><font face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></font></i></font></font></font></p></div>North Korea Travel: Tips on How to Visit (and Also Catch the Mass Games)https://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/north-korea-travel-tips-on-how-to-visit-and-also-see-the2011-08-21T16:30:00.000Z2011-08-21T16:30:00.000ZTripatinihttps://tripatini.com/members/Tripatini<div><p><em>by <a href="http://www.tripatini.com/profile/jthaliacunningham" target="_blank">J. Thalia Cunningham</a></em></p>
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<p><span style="font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;font-size:small;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9008637499,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="250" class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9008637499,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9008637499?profile=original" /></a>In previous installments (see links at bottom), I described visiting <strong>North Korea</strong>, officially called the <strong>Democratic People's Republic of Korea</strong>, and attending its famous synchronized <strong>Mass Games</strong>. But here are some specifics on how to visit (and even attend the games, still running through this October). So here are a few tips on visiting the DPRK:</span></p>
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<li><span style="font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;font-size:small;">As a citizen of the U.S.A., I entered and exited via Beijing, so I needed a <strong>double-entry Chinese visa</strong>. This is the case for many, although not all, nationals.<br /><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;font-size:small;"> </span><span style="font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;font-size:small;">The present <strong>time limit in-country</strong> for U.S. citizens is seven nights, but there are longer limits for nationals from many other countries. Moreover, notes tour operator Simon Cockerell, with whose company (Koryo) I traveled, the seven-night time limit for Americans could change.<br /><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;font-size:small;"> </span><span style="font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;font-size:small;">In 2010 the restriction that U.S. citizens could only travel during the Mass Games was lifted. Of course, that, too, could change.<br /><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;font-size:small;"><strong>Kim Il Sung's centenary occurs in 2012</strong>, so watch for special programs and tour packages associated with this event.<br /><br /></span></li>
<li><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9008637864,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="220" class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9008637864,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9008637864?profile=original" /></a> “<font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2">T<font color="#000000">here have been no threats to US citizens visiting the DPRK since the little spat over US participating in the game of battleship between DPRK and South Korea. Or at any time,” says Cockerell. I would add that because it i</font><font color="#000000">s a police state, the DPRK is, for better or for worse, <strong>safer to visit than most countries</strong> in the world. By the way, t</font>hey told us that <font color="#000000">if we do something we shouldn't, we wouldn't get in trouble, but our guides would.<br /><br /></font></font></font></li>
<li><span style="font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;font-size:small;"><strong>Flights</strong>: I flew to China on British Airways' partner Cathay Pacific to Beijing. Highly recommended.<br /><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;font-size:small;"><strong><a href="http://www.koryogroup.com/">Koryo Tours</a></strong> and <strong><a href="http://bestway.com/">Bestway Tours & Safaris</a></strong> are experts on North Korea. Don't be put off by the fact that one is located in Beijing and the other in Vancouver. They both know the territory, and they'll respond to your queries faster and more thoroughly than most other tour operators. <br /><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family:Verdana, sans-serif;font-size:small;"><strong>Prices</strong>: Koryo's itineraries range from a two-night Mass Games Mini-Break I package <font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2">(790</font></font><font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2">€* per person, double occupancy, plus surcharges) to the Summer Exclusive Tour (<font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2">(2,190</font></font><font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2">€ plus surcharges.) Koryo was offering a 16-night, </font></font></font></font>3,350€ Ultimate Mega-Tour, but curiously, the very high-end tours are sold out. So far Bestway's itineraries include an 11-day cultural tour featuring the Mass Games for approximately $4,000 per person. </span></li>
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<p><em><strong><span class="font-size-1"><font color="#000000"><font face="ArialMT, sans-serif"><font size="3"><font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2">Previous installments in this series:</font></font></font></font></font></span></strong></em></p>
<p><em>Part 3: <a href="http://www.tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/north-korea-travel-mass-games-in-pyongyang" target="_blank">North Korea Travel: Mass Games in Pyongyang</a></em><br /><em>Part 2: <a href="http://www.tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/north-korea-travel-visit-to-downtown-pyongyang" target="_blank">North Korea Travel: Visit to Downtown Pyongyang</a></em><br /><em>Part 1: <a href="http://www.tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/north-korea-travel-pyongyang-f" target="_blank">North Korea Travel: Pyongyang Finally Starting to Open Up?</a></em></p>
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<p><span class="font-size-1"><em><font color="#000000"><font face="ArialMT, sans-serif"><font size="3"><font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2">*</font></font><font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2">For currency conversions visit Tripatini's <a href="http://www.tripatini.com/group/thecurrencydesk">Currency Desk</a>.</font></font></font></font></font></em></span></p>
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<p><span class="font-size-1"><em><font face="Verdana, sans-serif" size="2">photos: Wikipedia</font></em></span></p>
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