South Korean Activist To Drop "The Interview" In North Korea Using Balloons 146
Siddharth Srinivas writes Park Sang Hak, a North Korean democracy activist, said he will start dropping 100,000 DVDs and USBs with Sony's The Interview by balloon in North Korea as early as late January. He's partnering with the U.S.-based non-profit Human Rights Foundation, which is financing the making of the DVDs and USB memory sticks of the movie with Korean subtitles.
And who will watch it? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:And who will watch it? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:And who will watch it? (Score:5, Informative)
DVD players are quite common in the North, the government produced a wide range of propaganda for public consumption. Computers, less so, but remember, they are connected to what is essentially a locked down "intranet".
Re: And who will watch it? (Score:4, Informative)
Technically, it is an Internet, not an intranet. However, it's not the Internet.
Technically, it's an internet, not an Internet. The Internet is an internet, but an internet is not necessarily the Internet.
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Somehow I'll trust the chaos computer club calling it a intranet over your definition.
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Oh look, someone left the stormfront open again.
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Technically, it isn't an internet (International Network) as it is only national.
It is a lot closer to an intranet than an internet
The "inter" part of "internet" stands for "interconnected" not "international". So North Korea does have an internet (interconnected network) but their internet is not connected to the Internet.
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The Internet is a proper noun.
They have a network of some sort; it is effectively not the Internet.
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It'll convince them Americans are good people when they come to blow Kim's head off.
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And you can bet they watch the propaganda, because in North Korea, TV watches YOU!.
Re:And who will watch it? (Score:5, Interesting)
And you can bet they watch the propaganda, because in North Korea, TV watches YOU!.
Worse, in North Korea your neighbor watches you. People can get executed, or worse, for possessing one of these DVDs or even finding one laying on the ground and picking it up when the wrong person is passing by at the same time. I wonder if this "activist" cares about that at all.
Re:And who will watch it? (Score:4, Informative)
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While I agree with you on a philosophical level, keep in mind that North Korean authorities probably aren't (in comparison) as understanding and level-headed as those in Germany, or (gasp) even the United States!
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When I was stationed there the north did similar with pamphlets all the time. As an american solder we would pick them up, unable to read them. I asked a Korean solder what it said and he wouldn't even look at it and told me to get rid of it. The south wasn't (20+ years ago) much different.
Re:And who will watch it? (Score:4, Insightful)
The are two points of view on that. Most certainly the people of North Korea are suffering under the egotistical and lust driven machinations of psychopaths but it is the people of North Korea who are ultimately responsible for their being victims. The people of North Korea are teaching the rest of us a very valuable lesson, cowardice and obedience bring horrible punishments to by far the majority far worse than the suffering of a minority, two minorities, the minority who died bringing an end to the minority who killed them and that minority who dies being a necessary part of the majority who resist.
So always choose to resist or become North Koreans living in fear and misery trapped by their own cowardice. Never ever allow your 'Political Leaders' to demand respect from the electorate, always demand that you 'Political Representatives' respect the electorate. Next time someone talks about political leaders rather than political representatives, demand they bend over and give them a swift kick up the arse for being idiots. In a democracy you never ever elect people to lead you, you elect them to represent you, otherwise you are destined to become another North Korean.
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I never said it was a good idea. I don't think it would actually work. The NK government isn't the brightest bunch of people around, but I don't think they're quite that stupid for this to work out.
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"activists" tend to care more about publicity then the "cause".
Given a choice of simply leaving North Korea alone (small isolated country and all) or provoke them by doing this and possibly hurting its citizens in return for nothing of real value... .what does an "activist" do?
Maybe he doesn't share your opinion that it's nothing of real value.
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I read through this report the other day:
Report of the detailed findings of the commission of inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea - A/HRC/25/CRP.1
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/CoIDPRK/Pages/ReportoftheCommissionofInquiryDPRK.aspx
From that document it sounded like watching/selling unapproved dvds was a major reason for people to go to the prison camps. So it can't be that rare. The report estimates that 50% had watched a foreign DVD by 2012:
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Some of those may even be within reach of the electricity needed to run them.
Perhaps a few of them can be shared?
Oh yeah. This is surely how you get a political movement started.
Hey, here's an idea that doesn't depend on things they don't have: how about we send them written copies of some other incendiary and thought-provoking ideas. You know, like maybe someone's Constitution? Perhaps a religious text? How about two or three h
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According the the CIA's Web site (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kn.html) the literacy rate in North Korea is 100%. Dropping pamphlets would make much more sense than dropping DVDs & USB sticks. This seems to be a publicity stunt, or an ego trip, more than a real attempt to sow dissatisfaction within North Korea.
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Even the children born and raised inside the worst kind of camps learn to read. They don't learn much more than that but given that they'll never exit the camp (not even as dead) and will never work with something qualified that is enough... :/
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There have been many such balloon propaganda efforts - I think the religious ones are common. This is just the latest, and perhaps funniest. Don't underestimate the value of mocking the dictator - it seems petty here, but in a world where no one ever does that, it's powerful. This particular movie is pretty lame, but don't they actually kill KJU off at the end? That's a nice message there.
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There have been many such balloon propaganda efforts - I think the religious ones are common. This is just the latest, and perhaps funniest. Don't underestimate the value of mocking the dictator - it seems petty here, but in a world where no one ever does that, it's powerful. This particular movie is pretty lame, but don't they actually kill KJU off at the end? That's a nice message there.
There's also the fact that whatever NK has been selling it's population about the west will have nothing to do with reality. The two main characters will humanize westerners, the portrayal of Kim will contradict his mystique, and the production value will hurt the effectiveness of NK productions.
It's definitely a long shot at making any positive difference, but I don't think it's a complete write-off. Media can be powerful, maybe this does provide an opportunity for some North Koreans to bond over poking fu
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They have to have some way of reading the messages that their Glorious Leader throws at the, probably.
Re:And who will watch it? (Score:4, Informative)
Are there 100,000 DVD players or PCs in private hands in North Korea? This doesn't seem like it is likely to have much effect.
http://i.guim.co.uk/static/w-6... [guim.co.uk]
They don't even have electricity... so I doubt it.
31c3 / Computer Science in the DPRK (Score:2)
Actually due to close ties with China, people in North Korea (official DPRK) have access to android phones and even tablets,
just look at the talk from Will Scott which he gave on this years 31c3 at Hamburg.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
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Seen what North Korea looks like [nationalgeographic.com] at night?
In North Korea, less than 25% of the population has any access to electric power. I doubt if there will be a whole lot of DVD watching..... maybe in schools, or when the rich guy down the street has a party and invites the whole street block to his/her showing of the DVD.
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Can he drop one at my house? (Score:2)
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Re:Nth Koreans will shoot anyone caught with it (Score:5, Funny)
Bribery loves company (Score:2)
Actually, this is only partially true, north korea is very very complex and the judgement brought to you depends on your status in the hierachy of the system.
(pff.. comunism .. everyone is equal, except that the kims are more equal than others and the politcal elite and the military ..)
If you are part of the "elite" and not doing public display of disobedience you will not be searched or the guards will see nothing, or what's actually mostly the case if your hierachy status is too low, they will have an op
Let's Do It Right! (Score:1)
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What benefit could this have, other than perhaps slightly undermining the government's authority?
Since it's obviously not a documentary, it's clearly a dirty lie, and I'm assuming Rogan and crew are their usual raunchy selves, it would probably actually serve to reenforce the propaganda from the State that the world is sick outside DPRK (if anybody had the gear to play it).
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There is also a psychological factor. In NK, the Kim dynasty is deified. In all aspects of North Korean life, the leader is worshiped as a god, with all the attribution of miracles that entails. To mock him openly is to challenge his deity. The point is not to convince North Koreans, but to introduce cognitive dissonance into their worship, thereby undermining Kim's absolute authority. The beauty of it is that no one even has to watch it; the very existence of the movie, and the average North Koreans knowle
Work Camps (Score:3, Insightful)
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And how many innocent NK citizens will be consigned to labor camps, for possessing imperialist propaganda blaspheming the "Great Leader?"
Ten or more years ago, probably a lot. These days, not so much the case. It was always the case the NKs, even in the bad old days would contact people to alter their state supplied radios to pick up SK broadcasts. Currently VHS is fairly common as are SK soap operas smuggled in from China whose border became porous as people looked for food in the 90's. Where defectors used to be quite rare and usually only the upper elite who ran because their lives were in danger, these days, the flow of normal people thr
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compared to having to watch that movie a labor camp will be a pleasant walk in the park.
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i predict that only good things can come of this action. Oh wait, I just remembered that I suck at predicting things.
Great way to get rid of the curious ones (Score:3)
that pick them up and get executed.
Haven't the North Korean people suffered enough? (Score:3, Funny)
We have to subject them to Seth Rogen, too?
Payment for DVDs... (Score:2)
I assume the group involved is at least paying Sony a wholesale price for those DVDs. (Which I didn't think had been released yet enyway) :-)
Surely they wouldn't engage in piracy.
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They probably bought the bulk DVDs from a Sony store.
S. Korean Idiot tries to piss off N. Korean idiot. (Score:3)
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Dumping food on countries kills off the local farms, causing even greater food insecurity.
Think before you drop bags of food on people's heads, crushing their farm animals and houses.
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what does California have to do with anything.
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Think before you drop bags of food on people's heads, crushing their farm animals and houses.
As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!
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As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!
You deserve to be modded up just for that obscure '70 reference. I deserve to be modded up because I recognized it.
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ask the people of ireland how that turned out. UK let a third of the population die from hunger rather than provide help. that's cold bro.
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"Mr. Irishman, would you have rather starved or suffer English influence through English charity?"
Uh, Ireland was entirely under British control at the time. Kinda makes what you're just after saying look really stupid.
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Like most things, there are both short-term and long-term consequences, and both need to be considered.
DVDs and CDs are so last decade (Score:1)
It's as if North Korea is such a backwater that they don't have 40 GB/s Net2 service like ... oh, wait, neither does the US ... my bad.
I feel sorry for north koreans (Score:5, Funny)
I feel sorry for north Koreans, haven't they suffered enough? Being given that dogshit movie could count as a war crime.
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NK should get even by re-editing the movie to make it actually entertaining, and sending it back.
Unintended Consequences (Score:1)
No one could predict what would happen when North Koreans finally saw The Interview. After deposing the Kim Dynasty, the Norks installed a new government, a "Brotacracy" where rule was determined by whoever in the country could drink the most alcohol and live. All propaganda was outlawed, and television became a continuous stream of dick jokes and scantily clad women. And worshiped all men was the Great Rogan, the Light-Bringer, and His Prophet Franco, who bequeathed to the Church of Nork the great commandm
What could possibly go wrong? (Score:2)
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Pirated copies? (Score:1)
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South Korea is making the copies, they are breaking copyright. I see this as simply poking a bear with a stick, stupid idea.
Comment removed (Score:3)
So they're admitting... (Score:5, Funny)
that this movie is a bomb?
Huh (Score:2)
Oh dear lord... (Score:1)
It's like AOL all over again.
What are they trying to achieve? (Score:2)
I mean seriously, that's just a bad movie. Apparently even so bad it mostly discredits its makers.
If you want do spend thousands of Euros to drop DVDs, drop something more intelligent. Something that actually makes people think, not something the government can easily discredit as the product of some deranged individuals.
Good (Score:1)
now north koreans will know what stankdick is.
Someone didn't think this through. (Score:1)
"Hey guys, look how great we are! Here's a terrible comedy making really bad jokes at your expense and where we graphically murder your ruler as part of a secretive CIA plot! Woot democracy!
It'd be like the US sending King Ralph into the UK as Republican propaganda.
But... (Score:3)
it's a Seth Rogan movie, isn't making someone watch it a crime against humanity?
uhhh... (Score:2)
And just plainly ignore the fact it's a commercial movie and to do what they want to do needs the explicit permission of Sony to be able to copy and distribute it...
And they simply don't even think about the enviroment, how many of those balloons will actually end up in the hands of people instead of just being dumped in the woods and streams and affecting wildlife...
The idea is great, but as always with a lot of those lefties, they don't think it through what the actual results are....
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