Do North Koreans know their country is the butt of so many jokes?

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/13/north-korean-international-laughing-stock

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The North Korean leadership attracts a great deal of attention in the world’s media. However it’s no secret that most of this attention is not merely unfavourable; but in many cases, the Kim dynasty is the object of ridicule.

For the average reader of western media, neither Kim Jong-un nor his late father Kim Jong-il are presented as the embodiment of evil incarnate. Rather, they are the butt of international jokes – often crude or very personal.

Independent reports about North Korea are difficult to verify and the country is culturally isolated, leaving speculation and humour to fill the void.

There are many ways in which the western media likes to make fun of North Korea: the typical North Korean strongman is portrayed as plump, round-faced, with a bad haircut and strange garb. These ‘tyrants of Pyongyang’ are regarded with a comical, almost clownish air, which can sometimes gloss over claims of serious human rights abuses.

Related: Kim Jong-un defies gravity with new haircut

‘Confrontation maniacs’

It does not help that the North Korean media is fond of elaborate expressions and macabre threats that, even when accounting for a translation gap, can be hard to take seriously.

Insults thrown at their key antagonists, the “US imperialists and their stooges” sound more comical than menacing: various state leaders have been described as “confrontation maniacs” “rabid dogs” and in the case of former US vice president Dick Cheney “a mentally deranged person steeped in the inveterate enmity towards the system in the DPRK”.

But does the average North Korean understand the humour in any of this? Do they know that the rulers of their country, whom they admire or despise – depending on personal political inclinations – are described as a joke? Do they know that Kim Jong-un has been the inspiration for millions of internet memes?

#WeaselPecker #KimJongUn pic.twitter.com/jbsIl5NSrC

Kim’s global study group

When Kim Il-sung’s personality cult began to emerge in earnest in the late 1950s, the North Korean media dedicated a lot of time to talking about how popular he was around the world, often profiling eulogies bestowed by other world leaders. Ever since, this alleged popularity has been core to the country’s propaganda.

Foreign support to the Kim cult is important to North Korea’s world view. It appears to be the major reason why the North Korean government provides support to assorted Juche study groups worldwide. The groups vary in size and success from being ‘thousands of supporters in Nigeria’ to smaller groups in Ireland and the UK, with Juche sometimes referred to as ‘Kimilsungism’ meaning the study of former leader Kim Il-sung’s political thesis.

Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the North Korean government entertained the idea of the Juche ideology competing with Leninism, Maoism and other radical leftist ideas. They spent a significant amount of their meagre resources but by the late 1970s, it became obvious that such investments had gone nowhere: the idea had won very few authentic supporters.

Support was significantly scaled back but Juche study group subsidies were not completely discontinued. Foreign Juche admirers were still occasionally flown to Pyongyang, at the expense of the North Korean state, but their role changed.

These supports had became props in the country’s propaganda narrative. Admiring foreigners would regularly appear on TV screens and newspaper pages delivering praise for the leadership.

Global friendships

Today, almost every issue of North Korea’s major newspapers will publish at least one piece on the activities of Kim supporters worldwide. The North Korean people are constantly reminded that their leaders are respected across the world – not only because of the might of their weapons, but also because of the irresistible nature of their ideas.

State media constantly reminds North Koreans that their leaders are respected across the world

This week North Korea announced it was forging a “year of friendship” with Russia, deepening economic and political ties which may complicate the west’s relationship to Vladimir Putin – a leader also subject to comical coverage alongside criticism.

In the last three days of February North Korean media reported the following events: meetings held in Uganda, Pakistan, Congo, Dominican Republic, Russia, Nigeria, Nepal, Benin and South Africa to celebrate Kim Jong-il’s recent birthday; articles about the Kim family’s great achievement published by newspapers in Germany, Russia, Italy, Thailand, Uruguay, Malaysia, Cambodia; seminars and other events in Italy, Uganda, Egypt, Poland and Austria.

Related: A propaganda merry-go-round: what North Koreans watch on TV

In most cases these were small-scale events, paid for by North Korean embassies, and the publications in question were run by either marginal radical newspapers or as paid advertisements by larger outlets.

Nonetheless, the average North Korean has no way of knowing that the Die Rote Fahne, which published some homage to Kim Jong-un, is a website run by one of five or six competing, but tiny, communist parties of Germany.

North Koreans are bombarded with propaganda which paints their country as a major player, and their leaders as figures which inspire admiration across the world. One article claimed that 450 streets in 100 countries had been named after Kim Il-sung.

Improve The Hygiene And One Will As The Major Tasks Given By The Party Is The Most Important In Demonstrating The Party's Policies!

A propaganda-loaded state media and very few western journalists allowed in – and if they are, their movements are strictly monitored – make independent reporting from North Korea very difficult. NK News have previously called this an “an echo-chamber effect” of rumours based on anonymous sources.

The defector perspective

But North Korea is not regarded with laughter by all. Many refugees I’ve spoken to have a hostile or highly critical attitude to the North Korean government and its leaders.

They believe the Kim dynasty is hellbent on furthering their own malign interests – not a bunch of clowns whose insults are as ridiculous as their haircuts. Furthermore, when they encounter such attitudes they can sometimes feel offended, since these jokes are seen as an insult to their country too.

Related: Add brilliance! Digital artist asks why we laugh at North Korea

Of course, it remains an open question whether the Kims, never deprived of access to foreign media, are aware that global popular culture has categorised them as clowns – a phenomenon that is unlikely to disappear any time soon.

Kim Jong-un probably saw The Interview, after all, and his father, a known movie aficionado, is likely to have watched Team America: World Police but whether they are aware of the sheer volume of memes, joke-tweets and spoofs across the internet remains to be seen.

A version of this article originally appeared on NK News