A grand evening of firecrackers "Fireworks for Great, Prosperous and Powerful Nation" was held on the bank of the River Taedong flowing across Pyongyang to commemorate the 97th birth anniversary of President Kim Il Sung. It presented a wonderful kaleidoscope of fire, the first of its kind in the 5,000-year-long history of the country, to inspire the servicepersons and people with confidence in and optimism of the victory in the building of a great, prosperous and powerful nation.

The grand gymnastic and artistic performance "Arirang", a chef do'euvre of a great ideological value, a high artistry and a unique form in the new era, was performed to be highly acclaimed by the spectators and the "October Concert" given by the Unhasu Orchestra, the Mansudae Art Troupe and the Samjiyon Band to celebrate the 64th birthday of the Workers' Party of Korea provided a model of the Songun-based musical art created in the year of a great upsurge, a year when the Korean people's dreams have come true.

The opera "The Dream of the Red Mansions", an adaptation from a classic of China, the drama "A Sentry under a Neon Lamp", which was created and performed in China in the 1960s, and the Russian opera "Evgeni Onegin" were recreated to demonstrate once again the mighty of Korean art.

Also produced were the documentary film "The Sun of Songun Shedding Its Rays All over the World" (parts 1, 2 and 3) which comprehends the undying feats performed by General Secretary
Kim Jong Il in the Songun-based revolution and feature films "A White Gem" (parts 1 and 2), "White Birch of Paektu", "The Great Bear", "The Country I Saw" (parts 2 and 3), "A Day of Training", "Lifeline" and the like, enriching the treasury of the Juche-oriented filmdom.

A large number of literary works full of the feelings of the vibrant era have been produced in the year, too, arousing the entire army and all people to the victory. Among them are full-length novels "Basis of Happiness", "Breaking Dawn" and "Annual Ring", epics "To the Uttermost Ends of the Earth, to the Ends of Years", the long poem "Oh, My Fatherland!", song words "Reach for Ultramodern Science" and "Great Joy of Victory" and the selection of poems "Echo Reverberating from Huichon".

Many successes have been achieved in the fine art sector. The Songhwa Fine Art Exhibition in commemoration of the Day of the Sun, a national art exhibition in celebration of February 16, the birthday of leader Kim Jong Il, and other exhibitions of diversified themes were held successfully and the Korean painting "Sea Kumgang at Sunset" drawn by Ri Chang, an artist of the Mansudae Art Studio, was awarded the top prize for ingenuity in the 12th Beijing International Art Expositions held in August.

The top prize was conferred on the aerial stunt "Three-stage Trapeze Flight" in the 33rd Monte Carlo International Acrobatic Festival and two of the three highest prizes on stunts "Flying on the Twin Swing" and "Balancing Etude" in the 12th Wuqiao International Acrobatic Festival fully demonstrating the influence of the ever developing Juche-oriented acrobatics.

The above-mentioned successes in Songun-based literature and art in the year are all thanks to the outstanding and energetic leadership of Kim Jong Il.