World of Bert: NORTH KOREAN MASS GAMES RAINED OUT

Persistent floods have forced North Korea to cancel its epic Arirang festival, according to reports from the Yonhap news agency.

The festival, named after the traditional Korean song "Arirang," combines spectacular, choreographed propaganda displays with gymnastics. It is held in Pyongyang’s massive, 150,000-seat May Day Stadium.

Last week, heavy rains caused the cancellation of the event, originally scheduled for August 1 to October 10.

The abrupt cancellation underscores the severity of the flooding that has wracked the isolated country. Popular among foreign tourists who pay hefty fees to secure North Korean visas and travel itineraries, the Arirang festival netted $11 million in 2005, but was cancelled last year (also due to floods).

Not surprisingly, North Korea’s state-run media is determined to put a positive spin on the news. A statement from the National Preparatory Committee for Grand Mass Gymnastic and Artistic Performance (NPCGMGAP) declares, "It is fully perfect in style and content...This performance describes the present reality of (North Korea) where the people are singing Arirang of happiness and prosperity, instead of Arirang of tears and sorrow they had to sing in the past."

Or, as my fiancé phrased it, "Oh yeah, like Dear Leader has been blessed once again by a supernatural deluge that confirms that he is, indeed, a deity?"

The NPCGMGAP reports that the festival has already "been enjoyed by tens of thousands of foreigners."

The state-run Korean Central News Agency of the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea (KCNADPRK) weighs in with rosy optimism: "It has now become hard to continue the performance as working people in different parts of the country are all out to recover from the flood damage these days. The performance is expected to be staged again after the flood damage is cleared away."