If there’s one thing North Korea does well, aside from suppressing freedom, gulags and food shortages, it’s propaganda.
Given that, the incredibly ironically named, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, just put out another gem.
The video, uploaded by North Korea’s official website, Uriminzokkiri, starts with a (hungry) North Korean sleeping.
In the foreground sits a DSLR camera.
A Canon camera, which is an interesting choice considering A) Canon is a Japanese company B) Japan and North Korea are on awful terms and C) The value of said DSLR camera is larger than North Korea’s GDP.
Anways, we have a famished (prison camp) worker who is getting right into the R.E.M. stage of sleep.
That’s when dreams are made after all.
So what does a (not) free and (not) well feed NoKo-er dream of?
Rockets! Space travel! Reunifying the Koreas! Mid 90’s computer graphics! Destroying America! (not food)!
Note: minus reunifying Korea/destroying America, I think this is what most 5-9 year old boys dream about…perhaps with better graphics though.
All this breathtaking imagery is awkwardly set to an intstrumental version of ‘We Are The World‘ by Michel Jackson et al.
After dreaming of a rocket launch, we cut to a totally sweet space shuttle type craft (this conception based on the American design no doubt) flying and peeking into the unified Korea. Happy Koreans abound!
Yay!
Then we get back on our nifty, neato space craft, do a few super spiffy space moves accompanyied by the best ‘woosh’ sound effects North Korean money could by and peek in on an American flag drapped city, meant to be NYC, in the midst of a missle attack.
Fires roaring.
According to the Guardian, the on screen caption reads, ‘somewhere in the United States, black clouds of smoke are billowing…It seems that the nest of wickedness is ablaze…’
‘We Are The World’ crescendos.
Then there’s an explosion.
Then we’re back to a wide shot of earth, and then…
GLITTER AND SPARKLIES RAIN DOWN FROM THE HEAVENS!!!!!!!!
The space shuttle does wicked cool fly bys. Noticeably absent are the ‘woosh’ sounds this time around. Sad face.
I assume the sound designer is now in a gulag for this oversight.
As the Telegraph puts it, ‘the video ends with the young man concluding that his dream will ‘surely come true.”
This is all prelude to an ‘imminent‘ nuclear test out of Pyongyang which, judging by this video and general North Korean ineptitude, is oh so terryfing.
Check it out:
More at The Guardian, The Telegraph, Yahoo and The Daily Mail