"[5] The name refers to "Arirang", a Korean folk story about a young couple who are torn apart, here intended to represent the division of Korea.

On September 19, South Korean President Moon Jae-in attended the Mass Games with Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un and addressed the crowd of 150,000.

[14] These messages may not be clear to foreign spectators, who are not aware of North Korean iconography: a rising sun symbolizes Kim Il-sung.

A snowy mountain with a lake represents Mount Paektu, a traditional symbol of Korea and where Kim Jong-il is said to have been born in a log cabin.

[citation needed] These are The opening event of the two-month festival are the mass games, which are famed for the huge mosaic pictures created by more than 30,000[16] trained school children, each holding up coloured cards, in an event known in the West as a card stunt, accompanied by complex and highly choreographed group routines performed by tens of thousands of gymnasts and dancers.

In August 2007, the Arirang Mass Games were recognized by Guinness World Records as the largest gymnastic display with 100,090 participants at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang.