North Korea may be distressing policymakers here and abroad with its threats of nuclear blah-blah-blah, but most people tend to shrug off its proclamations as rhetorical bluster, which we’ve all seen before. “Final destruction,” DPRK? Really? You mean, this is finally the final one, now?
North Korea, at this point, is a parody of itself, but that doesn’t mean we’ve exhausted the satirical possibilities. Here’s Kingsoft to demonstrate. In an ad for its new Liebao (Cheetah) browser, it depicts a fat Kim Jong-un pulling out a rifle and threatening to execute one of his commanding officers due to a browser glitch. As described by Abe Sauer on Brand Channel:
But the fast-fingered lackey whips open a Liebao browser and saves the day. “Use Liebao. Launch Victoriously” reads the tagline. Then everyone starts Gangnam Styling because… of course.
Sauer proceeds to analyze the Liebao browser’s market potential, concluding that “without an English interface, it will likely remain” largely anonymous outside of China.
“One thing is for sure,” he writes, “Kingsoft can expect its market in North Korea is dead.” Dead as Barack Obama in flames in this DPRK propaganda video. Dead as New York City. Final destruction dead.
China’s Kingsoft Mocks North Korea in Liebao Browser Ad (Brand Channel)
Sorry, look at the credits: it says
:Teenagers please watch this under the supervision of a Study Commissioner”
WTF?! Pleas enlighten me with a Confucian explanation