The air is getting crisper. Red lanterns are starting to appear in shop windows from Beijing to Bangkok, from San Francisco’s Chinatown to London’s Soho. Chinese New Year 2026 falls on Tuesday, February 17, and this year’s celebration carries an extra spark of excitement. We are welcoming the Year of […]
Eastern Asia
100 Happy Chinese New Year Wishes and Messages
The firecrackers are popping. Red lanterns sway from doorways. The smell of dumplings fills every kitchen from Beijing to Bangkok. Chinese New Year 2026 falls on Tuesday, February 17, and this year, we gallop into the Year of the Fire Horse (丙午年)—a rare and powerful combination that only comes around […]
100 Chinese New Year’s Eve Trivia Questions for Families
The smell of sizzling dumplings fills the kitchen. Red lanterns sway outside the front door. Grandma is shuffling mahjong tiles. It’s Chinese New Year’s Eve — or Chúxī (除夕) — and your family is gathered around the table waiting for the reunion dinner to begin. But before the feast, someone […]
Can Tourists Visit North Korea During Military Foundation Day?
North Korea’s Military Foundation Day is one of the most dramatic national celebrations on Earth. Tanks roll through Kim Il Sung Square. Tens of thousands of soldiers march in perfect unison. Fireworks light up the Pyongyang skyline. For any traveler fascinated by the world’s most secretive nation, the question is […]
How North Korea Celebrates Army Day: Mass Dances, Fireworks, and Parades
Few national celebrations on earth are as tightly choreographed—or as intensely watched by the outside world—as North Korea’s Army Day. Every year, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) transforms its capital, Pyongyang, into an open-air theatre of military pride. Columns of goose-stepping soldiers fill the vast expanse of Kim […]
Military Foundation Day vs. KPRA Day: Understanding North Korea’s Two Army Holidays
Most countries celebrate their armed forces with a single national holiday. North Korea is not most countries. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) reserves two separate public holidays for its military — one on February 8 and another on April 25. These dates honor two different chapters in the […]
Origins of the KPA: Tracing North Korea’s Military Foundation Back to 1948
Every February 8, the broad avenues of Pyongyang come alive with a spectacle that few outsiders ever witness firsthand. Columns of soldiers march in lockstep across Kim Il Sung Square. Brass bands fill the winter air with patriotic marches. Civilians lay flowers at bronze statues and war memorials. This is […]
The History of Korean People’s Army Day: Why Kim Jong Un Changed the Date
Every year on February 8, the streets of Pyongyang come alive with military pomp. Soldiers march in lockstep across Kim Il Sung Square. Tanks roll past towering portraits of the nation’s founding leaders. Fireworks burst over the frozen Taedong River. This is Korean People’s Army Day — one of the […]
Korean People’s Army Foundation Day 2026: Will North Korea Hold a Military Parade?
February in Pyongyang carries a biting cold that cuts through the city’s wide, empty boulevards. But in 2026, the chill in the air has done nothing to cool the political heat rising from Kim Il Sung Square. Korean People’s Army Foundation Day — observed on February 8 — falls this […]
February 8 vs. April 25: Confusion Over North Korea’s Military Foundation Day Explained
Every year in early February, the streets of Pyongyang come alive with goose-stepping soldiers, rumbling tanks, and the thunderous cheers of an audience bundled in thick winter coats. But wait — didn’t we just see a similar spectacle in April last year? And wasn’t that also called “Military Foundation Day”? […]