Auspicious February Holiday Celebrated in DPRK All the people in the DPRK joyfully celebrated the 84th birthday anniversary of Chairman Kim Jong Il. The 11th National Pencil Drawing Festival to celebrate the 84th birth anniversary of Chairman Kim Jong Il was open in Pyongyang on February 9, followed by the week of film show for Celebrating February 16 on the next day. Various celebrations such as photo exhibitions and art performances took place in the theatres of the capital city and provinces. The 14th National Cooking Competition was held in various parts of the country. The Third People’s Art Festival for Celebrating February 16 opened in Pyongyang on February 13. On February 16, a dancing party of youth and students was held and a figure skating demonstration given at the Ice Rink. During the commemorative events all the people across the country paid tribute to Chairman Kim Jong Il, looking back on his immortal exploits of providing a sure guarantee for the eternal prosperity of the country and the people’s happiness.

Mt Paektu Area Registered as UNESCO Global Geopark The Mt Paektu area was registered as a UNESCO Global Geopark in the 221st session of the UNESCO Executive Board held in Paris, France, on April 2025. It boasts of geotourism resources consisting of geological sites. Characterized mainly by their magnificence, serenity and peculiarity, these resources can be used for tourist activities centred on appreciating aesthetic values. The very high and steep mountain landforms including Chongun Rock and the oddish rocks in Mt Sobaek, the deep and precipitous valleys and ravines and the rugged landforms are favorable for tourist activities like mountaineering and exploring. The scenic spots including Mt Paektu, Lake Samji and Rimyongsu and wonderful natural scenery add more to the majesty of the Mt Paektu area. The Mt Paektu area was registered as a UNESCO Global Geopark, further highlighting its geological significance and tourist value.

School Fine Arts Group Nurtures Students’ Talent Hwawon Senior Middle School No. 1 in Hwasong District, Pyongyang, helps its students cultivate good talents with efficient operation of a fine arts group. The school brings those with aptitude for fine arts in the group and teaches them basic skills. The group helps the members develop their practical abilities with better understanding of the techniques and means of depiction peculiar to fine arts such as shading, line drawing and colouring. It frequently organizes outdoor drawing sessions. Students travel around the city visiting scenic sites, modern streets and monumental edifices to draw a clear and vivid picture of the real world. In this course, they produce delicate works in terms of formative artistic representation, concreteness and presentation. With frequent displays of the works by the members, the group helps them share experience and promote their eagerness to learn new things. Thanks to such efforts, group members have high ratings at the works contest of schools in the district and win diplomas in annual national festivals related to sculpture, craftwork, sketch and calligraphy.

Spectacular New Year Scenery On the occasion of the New Year, the capital city of Pyongyang was adorned with a spectacular scenery, boosting the holiday atmosphere. Several places of Pyongyang were set out with colourful decorations to celebrate the New Year. The capital city was full of glittering light ornaments adding joy to the New Year’s eve. Happy faces of people skating and sledding at the brightly illuminated outdoor ice rink in the central part of the capital city also added joy to the night scenery.

The DPRK Significantly Greeted New Year 2026 Officials, working people, service personnel and schoolchildren visited the statues of President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il on Mansu Hill and in other parts of the country and the mosaics depicting the peerlessly great men to lay flower baskets, bouquets and flowers before them and made bows. Children and pupils of primary schools across the country received confectionery associated with the loving care of the respected fatherly Marshal Kim Jong Un on the occasion of the New Year. A circus was given by acrobats of the National Acrobatic Troupe at Pyongyang Circus Theatre. Sports and amusement games were played by officials, working people and youth and students in the South Hamgyong Provincial Sports Village and Hamhung Stadium, adding joy to celebrations. Performances for greeting the New Year were given by children in North Phyongan, South Hwanghae and Kangwon provinces, Kaesong Municipality and other areas.

Mirim Riding Club The Korean people have been fond of horse riding since old time. The horse riding has grown all the more popular among the Korean people with the opening of a riding club in Mirim area in a suburb of Pyongyang. Across the vast expanse of the ground stand scores of service buildings associated with the horse riding along with riding tracks. They boast of top-class facilities like the indoor and outdoor training areas, a rehabilitation centre, a veterinary hospital and so on. It also has a learning space for knowledge about horse riding, consisting of several lecture rooms and sci-tech dissemination rooms. Mirim Riding Club is giving the additional pleasure and optimism to our people as a public horse riding facility.