The pageantry and propaganda of the North Korean cheer squad

The North Korean cheer squad delighted spectators and athletes alike the first weekend of the Winter Olympics, but their synchronicity leaves a sour taste.

The opening weekend of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics introduced global viewers to the North Korean cheer squads, groups of 20-30 women with impressive, impeccable coordination and a litany of pre-prepared cheers that Kim Jung Un has periodically sent to international sports competitions for the last 16 years.

The cheerleaders wear matching jumpsuits and hats, they wave flags in perfect unison. They sing, they chant. They also don’t speak to anyone, or take bathroom breaks. Some find them mesmerizing and amazing, others conclude they’re more than a tad creepy, if not outright terrifying.

See for yourself, they are, no doubt, masterly.

https://twitter.com/GadiNBC/status/962299259264602112

However, it takes just a sliver of context to suck a lot, if not all, of the fun out of the North Korean cheer squad.

These cheerleaders are not just patriotic sports fans. Better known in the region as North Korea’s army of beauties, the 230 women are a “charm offensive,” selected with exacting beauty standards and a specific purpose: appeal to foreign sympathies and emotions for diplomatic ends. They have traveled sporadically since 2002, according to the Wall Street Journal, who published a report on the cheerleaders:

"Nam Sung-wook, a professor at Korea University’s Department of Unification and Diplomacy in Seoul, says the cheering is a cunning strategy remote-controlled by Pyongyang to weaken South Korea’s ties with the U.S. and loosen sanctions against North Korea.“They’re trying to appeal to people’s emotions,” says Nam, pointing to how the cheering squads’ chants and songs have so far revolved around the theme of “national cooperation.”"

Most of the women come from elite families and are likely performing arts students, another indicator of high society. (Their status in the regime, however, does not equal immunity: Former members have been jailed, reportedly for speaking about what they saw in South Korea after traveling to the neighboring country to cheer at the Asian Games.) Their performance is, by definition, propaganda. In style, too, their cheers have the feel of propaganda. They’re synchronicity, all things considered, is more reminiscent of military display than well-worn cheer. As the Washington Post notes, they are “over-choreographed to the point of lost authenticity.”

Also hurting that good ol’ fan authenticity? Well, all their other behavior. Again, per the Journal:

"Under supervision from a row of stern-faced old men in DPRK tracksuits and an older woman with her back to the ice, they followed every instruction in unison.Between chants, the cheerleaders sat in silence, rarely even addressing each other. At one venue, they were never seen to take a sip of water or a bathroom break. Despite having all eyes on them, they barely engaged with their surroundings."

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Synchronized choreography is amazing. Passionate citizens traveling en masse to support their athletes and country is peak Olympics.

But when said perfect, patriotic cheerleading comes with robotic behavior, blanks stares, and authoritarian instruction, in the service of a dictatorship, known for, among other things, human rights violations and constant nuclear threats, for the explicit purpose of driving a wedge in diplomatic relations between the United States and South Korea…well, that’s less fun.