Okay imagine for a second that you live in a country ruled by a living god. Sure, there are no jobs and starving peasants, driven to eat dirt and bark, are a common sight. But that’s only because your country is under perpetual threat by hateful governments. Your Dear Leader is fighting them off with his grandiose plans. So you take solace in the idea that your homeland is a haven from the malignant, Western world—a fact drummed into your head throughout school—and that your leader is the Best Human Ever, a poet, an artist, a ladies man, a great scientist.
Naturally, you pool your hope into your kids, and according to the Dear Leader, the highest honor your kids can achieve is appearing in an enormous choreographed dance—120,000 people, all performing in one extended pantomime that’s part Busby Berkeley, part Superbowl, and part Triumph of the Will. That’s North Korea, and that’s the Mass Games—which are undeniably gorgeous.
There’s a great set of Mass Games photos at Flickr, by Gazjoe. And Vice, when they were in North Korea, attended the games.






