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North breaks tradition, incorporates some of South's pop culture style in anniversary event

Published: 15 Oct. 2025, 14:42 Updated: 15 Oct. 2025, 18:01

A scene from ″Long Live the Workers’ Party of Korea,″ a mass gymnastics and performing arts performance held in North Korea on Oct. 12. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

North Korea staged a massive mass games and performing arts event, “Long Live the Workers’ Party of Korea,” on Sunday to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party. The show mixed traditional North Korean spectacle with modern elements that echoed South Korean pop culture.

Kim Jong-un praised the event as a flawless display of the nation’s “resilience, potential and power.” He used the occasion to highlight closer ties with China, Russia and several Southeast Asian nations.

Footage aired by the state-run Korea Central TV showed a performer believed to be singer Jong Hong-ran — previously known for her bold fashion at the 2022 Victory Day concert — appearing with her signature full bangs, donning a white pantsuit and performing a tightly choreographed routine with backup dancers.

The show’s stage direction marked a notable departure from the traditional format of North Korean performances. Backup dancers in short skirts and high heels performed synchronized routines that resembled those seen on South Korean trot competition shows. Musicians in shoulder-baring dresses swayed as they played violins, adding a modern, almost cinematic aesthetic to the show.

The overall presentation included upbeat rhythms, pop-style arrangements and multimedia effects, a stark contrast to North Korea’s usual slower, more solemn productions. Despite the country’s ongoing enforcement of its “Law on Rejecting Reactionary Thought and Culture,” aimed at curbing the spread of South Korean pop culture, the event signaled a selective embrace of global entertainment elements.

A scene from ″Long Live the Workers’ Party of Korea,″ a mass gymnastics and performing arts performance held in North Korea on Oct. 12. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Experts say the regime is reinforcing a strategy of “North Korean-style sophistication” as a tool of state propaganda.

Speaking at a post-performance military parade to encourage participants, Kim emphasized the success of the event. Kim “extended warm congratulations to all the participants who splendidly celebrated the 80th founding anniversary of the great Party with ardent loyalty and patriotism,” according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency. Analysts interpreted the remarks as a reflection of Pyongyang’s growing confidence amid strengthened trilateral ties with China and Russia, as well as expanding outreach to Southeast Asia.

High-profile foreign attendees included Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev and senior representatives from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) nations including Vietnam, Laos and Indonesia.

A scene from ″Long Live the Workers’ Party of Korea,″ a mass gymnastics and performing arts performance held in North Korea on Oct. 12. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The show also included large-scale gymnastics exhibitions, featuring schoolchildren performing tumbling routines to depict blooming flowers. In the finale, children ran toward Kim with arms outstretched, shouting “Thank you, Father Marshal!”

Midway through the event, performers showcased acrobatic stunts and military-themed displays, including wrestling sequences, horse parades, flaming hoop jumps, single-rope descents by special forces and feats of strength, emphasizing North Korea’s trademark fusion of “hardness and artistic beauty.”

However, such complex choreography is reportedly the result of harsh training conditions. Participants are said to undergo more than six hours of rehearsal daily while dealing with restrictions on food, water and even restroom use. Western observers have previously described North Korea’s mass games as a form of collective human rights abuse.

A scene from ″Long Live the Workers’ Party of Korea,″ a mass gymnastics and performing arts performance held in North Korea on Oct. 12. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY BAE JAE-SUNG [[email protected]]