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N. Korea continues mass gymnastics show despite flood damage
SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- North Korea is continuing its mass gymnastics performance despite heavy floods that devastated much of the communist country, the North's state media reported Tuesday.
"Arirang," named after a famous traditional Korean folk song, was held in 2002 and 2005, but was cancelled last year due to floods.
The first part of this year's show, which ran about 80 minutes starting at 8 p.m. every day except for Sunday, was held between mid-May and May 20. The second part started on Aug. 1 and is to last until mid-October.
"Every day tens of thousands of people from all walks of life come to the May Day Stadium to watch the annual and traditional mass gymnastic and art performance," Kim Kum-ryong, director of the organizing committee, said in an interview with the Korean Central Broadcasting Station.
The performance took place for nearly five months when it was first held in 2002, with about 100,000 people participating.
This year's performance carries special significance for North Korea, as it celebrates the 95th anniversary of the birth of its founding leader Kim Il-sung who died of heart failure in 1994. This year also marks the 62nd anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's colonial rule and the founding of the North's ruling Workers' Party.
Devastating floods are believed to have destroyed 11 percent of the North's farmland, and the number of dead and missing is estimated to reach more than 300, with the homeless numbering about 300,000. An estimated 46,580 homes of 88,400 families were destroyed or damaged, according to the North's media.
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