Kim Jong Un = Sexiest Man Alive?

Popular news satire site The Onion recently posted an article proclaiming Kim Jong Un to be the sexiest man alive.

While this is all good for a light chuckle, the People’s Daily, China’s online communist newspaper, mistook the spoof for reality and ran a 55-photo spread on the North Korean dictator.  The People’s Daily had been taken in by satirical news sources before, and quoted The Onion article in their coverage of Kim Jong Un.

The Guardian posted the following article outlining the whole, hilarious thing (see below).  I would recommend taking a look at the collection of photos before everything is taken down.

• Associated Press in Beijing
• guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 27 November 2012 07.53 EST

The online version of China‘s Communist party newspaper has hailed a report by The Onion naming North Korean dictator as the Sexiest Man Alive – not realising it is satire.

The People’s Daily on Tuesday ran a 55-page photo spread on its website in a tribute to the round-faced leader, under the headline North Korea‘s top leader named The Onion’s Sexiest Man Alive for 2012.

Quoting the Onion’s spoof report, the Chinese newspaper wrote: “With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm, and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heartthrob is every woman’s dream come true.”

The People’s Daily cited the Onion as saying: “Blessed with an air of power that masks an unmistakable cute, cuddly side, Kim made this newspaper’s editorial board swoon with his impeccable fashion sense, chic short hairstyle, and, of course, that famous smile.”

The photos that the People’s Daily selected include Kim on horseback squinting into the light and Kim waving towards a military parade. In other photos, Kim is wearing sunglasses and smiling, or touring a facility with his wife.

It is not the first time a state-run Chinese newspaper has fallen for a fictional report by The Onion.

In 2002, the Beijing Evening News, one of the capital city’s biggest tabloids at the time, published as news the fictional account that the US Congress wanted a new building and that it might leave Washington. The Onion article was a deadpan spoof of the way sports teams threaten to leave cities in order to get new stadiums.

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Know Your Meme | Hungry Kim Jong Un

One of my favorites.

In the wake of Kim Jong Il’s death, rumors began to spread internationally about Kimg Jong Un.  The challenging thing was that so little was known of the heir apparent.  As stated elsewhere on this blog, about one third of North Koreans are chronically hungry, yet the Kim’s (and the elite inner circle) experience luxury beyond compare.

In light of this fact, the Hungry Kim Jong Un meme surfaced.

Read all about it at knowyourmeme.com.

 

 

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Know Your Meme: North Korea is Best Korea

A few years back, some ne’er-do-well’s on the internet decided to rig a vote in hopes of making North Korea the destination for Justin Bieber’s world tour.

Read about the entire hilarious thing here, at knowyourmeme.com.

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Gawker | “10 Potential Product Slogans for North Korea’s New Imitation iPad”

[Courtesy of Ilana Brownstein, Director of New Play Development at Company One…]

Apparently, North Korea has invented its own tablet device called the Arirang.  Media news and gossib blog Gawker has come up with ten potential slogans for the imitation iPad…

But hey, just because the people of North Korea didn’t think up the iPad, that doesn’t mean they can’t make the Arirang into their own, unique cultural thing! All they need is a good campaign slogan. Some suggestions:

• Arirang: The Only, and Therefore Most Amazing, Tablet Yet
• Arirang: Think Different, but Not Too Different Because We Don’t Want You to Rebel
• Arirang: The Biggest Thing to Happen to North Korea Since The Bobbing Duck Toy
• Arirang: You May One Day Be Able to See a Picture of It
• Arirang: Connects to the Internet, Even If You Don’t Know What That Is
• Arirang: One Fantastic, Government-Approved App. And Counting
• Arirang: It Just Works, Don’t Ask How or We’ll Put You in Jail
• Arirang: Worth More Than What You Spend on Food in a Year
• Arirang: No, It Is Not a Surface On Which You Serve Food
• Arirang: Look, We Know You’re Hungry, But This Is Still Cool, Right?

To read the article in its hilarious entirety, click the LINK.

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