Okay, so I decided to look into North Korean holidays recently. It wasn’t for any specific project, just curiosity, you know? Sometimes you just wonder about places that are different.
First thing I did was just a simple search online. Typed something like “holidays in North Korea”. Got back the usual suspects pretty quick. You see the big ones immediately, like Kim Il Sung’s birthday, they call it the Day of the Sun, and Kim Jong Il’s birthday, the Day of the Shining Star. Those were everywhere.
But just seeing the names and dates didn’t really tell me much. I wanted to get a feel for what they were about. What do people actually do? Is it like holidays here, or totally different? So, I started digging a bit deeper.
Digging for Details
This part got a bit tricky. Information isn’t exactly flowing freely, right? I tried searching for specific holiday names, looking for descriptions or personal accounts. Found bits and pieces here and there. Things like mentions of mass dances, kids getting sweets, maybe special food rations, laying flowers at statues. It felt like putting together a puzzle with half the pieces missing.
I noticed a few things pretty quick:
- Heavy focus on leaders: A lot of the major holidays are tied directly to the Kim dynasty. Birthdays, anniversaries related to their lives or power. That really stood out.
- National Foundation / Military stuff: Then you have days marking the founding of the country, the army day, the party foundation day. Very state-centric.
- Fewer traditional ones?: Compared to other places, seemed like fewer holidays based purely on old traditions or seasons, though they do have Lunar New Year, which was interesting to see listed.
I spent a good while just cross-referencing snippets. Sometimes one site would mention a holiday another didn’t. I tried looking for photos or videos, which sometimes gave a better clue than just text descriptions. You see these huge parades or performances for some days.
Putting it Together
After poking around for a while, I sort of compiled my own mental list, going beyond just the main dates. I added notes about the type of holiday it seemed to be – political, military, maybe slightly more traditional.
What struck me most was how organized and state-driven the celebrations seemed, at least from the outside looking in. Less about spontaneous family gatherings (though I’m sure that happens privately) and more about large-scale, public displays connected to the government and its history.
It was an interesting exercise. Didn’t find any magic source with all the answers, just had to piece it together bit by bit. Made me think about how different places mark time and what they choose to celebrate. Definitely not your typical holiday calendar.
