RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – If North Korea’s reaction to The Interview has not made it clear that the Hermit Kingdom takes portrayals of its Supreme Leader very seriously, the country’s opinion of a new Chinese music video featuring Kim Jong-Un will.
The video consists of various clips of people dancing, fighting, and playing soccer with Kim Jong-Un’s face photoshopped over their own. The faces of other political figures, such as Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong-Il, also make appearances in the video. Many of the clips featuring Obama and Kim are made to look like fights between the two leaders, with Obama winning. Further, one scene depicts Osama bin Laden and Kim happily skipping through a field of flowers.
The video is believed to be the work of a man named Zhang, who some say left his home in Suzhou, China to study at South Korea’s Kyonggi University.
When the North Korean government found out about the music video, they were anything but amused. They requested that China do something to prevent any future dissemination of the clip, claiming that it undermines their Supreme Leader’s status in the international community.
North Korea’s reactions to The Interview and this music video show that they take depictions of their leaders very seriously. Most countries would probably see this as nothing more than a silly music video, but North Korea sees it as a personal attack on their leaders that must be stopped. It will be interesting to see whether China complies with the request, and if this situation adds to the already tense situation in the region.