The Rungnado May First Stadium, or May Day Stadium, is a monumental stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea completed on May 1, 1989. Its names come from Rungna Island on the Taedong River, upon which it is situated, and May Day, the international day celebrating labor and particularly celebrated among communists. Its scalloped roof features 16 arches arranged in a ring, and it is said to resemble a parachute or a magnolia blossom. Hangul is the native alphabet used to write the Korean language, as opposed to the hanja system borrowed from China. ... Hanja, or hanmun, sometimes translated as Sino-Korean characters, are what Chinese characters (hanzi) are called in Korean. ... McCune-Reischauer romanization is one of the two most widely used Korean language romanization systems, along with the Revised Romanization of Korean, which replaced (a modified) McCune-Reischauer as the official romanization system in South Korea in 2000. ... The Revised Romanization of Korean (Korean: 국어의 로마자 표기법; 國語의 로마字 表記法) is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea. ... The Athens Olympic Stadium A modern stadium (plural stadiums, Latin plural stadia) is a place, or venue, for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts or other events, consisting of a field or stage partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event. ... Pyongyang (평양 / 平壤) is the capital city of North Korea, located in the bottom third (almost direct center) of the country, situated on the Taedong River. ... May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX in Roman) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Taedong River rises in the Nangnim Mountains of northern North Korea. ... May Day is a name for various holidays celebrated on May 1 (or in the beginning of May), the most famous one being Labor Day. ... Communism - Wikipedia /**/ @import /w/skins-1. ... Isometric view of a typical arch a complete idiot is a curved structure capable of spanning a space while supporting significant weight (e. ... The Apollo 15 capsule landed safely despite a parachute failure. ... Species See text Magnolia is a large genus of about 120 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. ...

It is the largest multi-purpose stadium in Asia and the second largest in the world. It can seat 150,000 for events on a main pitch sprawling across over 22,500 m² (242,200 ft²). Its total floor space is over 207,000 m² (2.2 million ft²) across eight storeys, and the lobes of its roof peak at more than 60 m (197 ft) from the ground. It is more than double the size of the Olympic Stadium in Seoul, South Korea.^[1] See also: Asian and Eurasian World map showing Asia. ... The Jamsil Olympic Stadium (formerly Anglicized Chamshil) in Seoul, South Korea was the main stadium built for the 1988 Summer Olympics, and is the centrepiece of the Jamsil Sports Complex in the Songpa-gu District, in the southeast of the city south of the Han River. ... Seoul ( (help· info)) is the capital of South Korea (the Republic of Korea) and one of the most populous cities in the world. ...

While the stadium is used for sporting events, it is more famous as the site of massive parades and shows celebrating Kim Il-Sung and the North Korean nation. In May of 2002 it was the site of the colossal and meticulously choreographed "Arirang" gymnastic and artistic performance in honor of Kim's 60th birthday. The extravaganza involved some 100,000 participants—double the number of spectators^[2]— and was open to foreigners, a rare occurrence. Critics of the regime said the spectacle was an attempt to distract from the 2002 World Cup being co-sponsored by South Korea shortly thereafter, and an effort to raise scarce hard currency. Kim Il-sung (김일성) (15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was the leader of North Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death, when he was succeeded by his son Kim Jong-il. ... 2002 (MMII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... (Redirected from 2002 World Cup) The 2002 Football World Cup was held in South Korea and Japan from May 31 to June 30. ...

It was also the venue in which "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-Il in 1999 entertained Madeleine Albright, the U.S. Secretary of State under President Bill Clinton and the highest ranking American official ever to visit North Korea. Kim Jong-il (born February 16, 1942) is the effective leader of North Korea. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Madeleine Korbel Albright (born May 15, 1937 in Prague) served as the 64th United States Secretary of State. ... Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III, August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ...

See also

• List of Korea-related topics
• List of stadiums

This is a list of Wikipedia articles on Korea-related people, places, things, and concepts. ... This is a list of stadia. ...

Photographs

• BBC News: "In pictures: Arirang Festival," 30 April 2002
• Photos of Rungnado 1st of May Stadium, P'yŏngyang
• May Day Stadium on Google Maps
• ImageSat International: Satellite photo, Pyongyang May Day Stadium, 29 June 2002

Corporate logo of the British Broadcasting Corporation. ... April 30 is the 120th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (121st in leap years), with 245 days remaining, as the last day in April. ... 2002 (MMII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 29 is the 180th day of the year (181st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 185 days remaining. ...

References

• [1] WorldStadiums.com, "Rungnado May Day Stadium"
• [2] Watts, Jonathan, "Despair, hunger and defiance at the heart of the greatest show on earth," The Guardian, 17 May 2002