JOY ELLEN YOON — 2024 April Holiday Celebrations in DPRK

April 15, 2024 marks the 112th birthday of the Founding Leader of DPR Korea. Although the Founding Leader passed away in 1994, the holiday remains central to North Korean life and culture. Traditionally, the holiday was known as the “Day of the Sun”, but recently it has been referred to as “The April Holiday”.

Large celebrations and performances accompany the holiday. The Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday reported that approximately 1,200 participants performed at a schoolchildren’s art festival for the holiday. And although DPRK borders have not yet fully reopened, some 2,700 artists from 28 countries sent performance videos to showcase at the spring art festival.

From personal experience, I fondly remember the festive and colored atmosphere of the April Holiday. People from all around the world would come to Pyongyang to run in the Pyongyang Marathon, which typically began a few days prior to holiday celebrations. It was a time to meet and greet local people, run the flowering streets of the city, and casually slap spectators’ hands as they lined the streets to cheer on runners.

The Pyongyang Marathon was then followed by mass dancing in the Kim Il Sung Square as well as music and art performances by both the international community and overseas Korean compatriots. Young couples gathered in squares in both Pyongyang and all around the country, dressed in colorful Korean gowns to follow the choreographed dancing. Our team often attended these events, including the overseas Korean performances which comprised of singing, dancing, and instrumental solos where Korean professional performers from Russia, Uzbekistan, China, Japan, and the United States participated.

For 2024 celebrations, 50 members from 20 countries arrived on April 11th to join the nation in celebrating the April Holiday. Delegates from Russia, China, and other countries participated, being the first people to enter the DPRK from their country since the onset of the COVID pandemic. Delegates came from Thailand, Mongolia, Nepal, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Austria, Poland, Bulgaria, Czechia, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Nigeria, and Uganda attended the “International Symposium on Juche Ideology in commemoration of the 112th birth anniversary of the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung”. Attendance from such a diverse group of countries could be a positive sign that the DPRK may soon be relaxing its strict border policies.

Despite this positive sign, it is clear that the DPRK is being selective in who they allow into the country. Each of these delegates came from Pro-DPRK friendship groups known for their support and embrace of North Korea’s Juche ideology. Thus far, only a Russian tourist group has visited the DPRK since the onset of the COVID pandemic. It is possible that borders will soon allow Chinese tourism and Chinese businessmen to enter North Korea, but the only Europeans outside of the April Holiday to visit the DPRK this year were German and Swedish diplomat delegations to inspect the condition of their embassies. Regardless of this selectivity, North Korea is starting to allow a wider group of foreigners to enter the country, indicating a slow reopening of the country’s borders.

However, UN entities such as UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), and World Food Program (WFP) have yet to return to the country. Other humanitarian groups have also yet to be allowed back into the DPRK. North Korea has made it clear that their main objective is to economically develop their nation, but in the midst of current global sanctions, engaging in development work is challenging, whereas humanitarian assistance is by comparison largely supported by the international community.

International NGOs are still waiting to be able to return to the DPRK. With North Korea’s highly selective reopening, it is unclear when they and the larger international community will be able to enter the country. Hopefully following the April Holiday, DPRK will continue to slowly reopen their borders and give a clear indication of when travel in and out of North Korea will be normalized.