NationStates Jolt Archive

http://pyang.su/

I came across the above website recently. It purports to be one of the official propaganda arms of the North Korean government, with plenty of articles about life in the DPRK.

It seems legit at first glance: it has a Soviet-era doman (.su), contains links to North Korean government sites, and hosts a copy of the DPRK Constitution. But once you read the stories themselves, they border on the absurd. For instance:

American Fascist Party to Change Its Name
That party now wants to change its name to something more savoury - from the American Republican Party to the American Democratic Party. The real Democratic Party is banned from participating in the American Congress, like all other opposing parties, but now the imperialists want to claim its name for their own. In next month's election, the Republican (Fascist) Party will attempt to show the world their supposed democracy by losing in the elections to the Democratic Party. In reality, this "Democratic Party" will be made up of members from the Republican Party, hence the Fascists will still rule, only now under a new name. This will also give them a chance to remove brutal dictator George W. Bush from power, given that his approval rating is rumoured to be less than 20%. It is very unlikely however that a non-fascist will gain presidential power in the country.

However, many stories aren't as ridiculous, and seem more like what one would expect from totalitarian propaganda.

So here's my question: after looking at some of the articles on this site, do you think it's actual North Korean propaganda, or merely well-done satire? I honestly can't tell.

PS: It must reflect badly on your government when your state-sponsored worldview can literally be mistaken for a joke.

Just from that, it looks well too informed about American politics. I have my doubts as to whether the DPRK propaganda even differentiates between democrat and republican, making me think that this has been tailored for an American audience.

http://pyang.su/

I came across the above website recently. It purports to be one of the official propaganda arms of the North Korean government, with plenty of articles about life in the DPRK.

It seems legit at first glance: it has a Soviet-era doman (.su), contains links to North Korean government sites, and hosts a copy of the DPRK Constitution. But once you read the stories themselves, they border on the absurd. For instance:



However, many stories aren't as ridiculous, and seem more like what one would expect from totalitarian propaganda.

So here's my question: after looking at some of the articles on this site, do you think it's actual North Korean propaganda, or merely well-done satire? I honestly can't tell.

PS: It must reflect badly on your government when your state-sponsored worldview can literally be mistaken for a joke.

Well, I wouldn't be 'surprised' if it were real. The fact that it's rather absurd means nothing; remember Iraq's Minister of Defense (Bagdad Bob, I believe we called him), claiming the Americans hadn't sacked Baghdad, with tanks rolling behind him?

Not to mention the old addage, 'Sometime truth is stranger than Fiction'. Oh, crap, I just mentioned it....:p

Then again, they probably would read the Onion, and think that's real...

I can't tell, it looks just like what you'd expect from stalinist propaganda, but it could be created as satire, the fact that all the links that would let you talk to a "real korean" are missing. I would no be surprised at all if it were legit.

I think this (http://pyang.su/10202006-01.htm) makes it satire pretty quickly...

I think this (http://pyang.su/10202006-01.htm) makes it satire pretty quickly...

I dunno...I can see Latoya Jackson & Bananarama being BIG over there....:p

I think this (http://pyang.su/10202006-01.htm) makes it satire pretty quickly...
Eh... I guess you're right. Well, it was fun while it lasted...

EDIT: Strike that just a tad -- I still can't decide. It strikes me as odd that the entire site would be so very, very subtle, while that one section would give it all away blatantly. I mean, isn't Kim Jong Il a big fan of Daffy Duck and Rambo? If he also liked LaToya, it wouldn't be too far-fetched to see her songs ending up on the DPRK charts.

Although, looking at the other songs, I'm leaning more towards "satire"...

The difference between propaganda and satire is subtle. They are both a hyberbole of the facts. Satire's intent is to amuse while drawing attention to the truth, while propaganda's intent is to confuse while drawing attention away from the truth.

Eh... I guess you're right. Well, it was fun while it lasted...

I'm still amusing myself by reading the site though :)

Just from that, it looks well too informed about American politics. I have my doubts as to whether the DPRK propaganda even differentiates between democrat and republican, making me think that this has been tailored for an American audience.

I don't think so, they actually tell there's no difference between Reps and Dems - they say they're all fascists.
The fact that the site is written in english, though, makes me a bit suspicious.

I don't think so, they actually tell there's no difference between Reps and Dems - they say they're all fascists.
The fact that the site is written in english, though, makes me a bit suspicious.
I don't see why it should. All the DPRK government sites are in English. To wit:

DPRK Government homepage (http://www.korea-dpr.com/)
Korean Central News Agency (http://www.kcna.co.jp/index-e.htm)
The People's News Agency (http://www1.korea-np.co.jp/pk/)

etc.

Eh... I guess you're right. Well, it was fun while it lasted...

EDIT: Strike that just a tad -- I still can't decide. It strikes me as odd that the entire site would be so very, very subtle, while that one section would give it all away blatantly. I mean, isn't Kim Jong Il a big fan of Daffy Duck and Rambo? If he also liked LaToya, it wouldn't be too far-fetched to see her songs ending up on the DPRK charts.

Although, looking at the other songs, I'm leaning more towards "satire"...

You could look at the whois information:

domain: PYANG.SU
nserver: ns1.mdnsservice.com.
nserver: ns2.mdnsservice.com.
nserver: ns3.mdnsservice.com.
state: REGISTERED, DELEGATED
person: Warren Murphy
phone: +850 2 3817 794
e-mail: web@pyang.su
registrar: RUCENTER-REG-FID
created: 2006.09.05
paid-till: 2007.09.05
source: FID
On the one hand the phone number does seem to be North Korean (Pyongyang even). On the other hand the domain name was registered just two months ago, by someone named Warren Murphy, which is of course a typical North Korean name.

You could look at the whois information:

On the one hand the phone number does seem to be North Korean (Pyongyang even). On the other hand the domain name was registered just two months ago, by someone named Warren Murphy, which is of course a typical North Korean name.

it says that its done by their friend outside the country because the US 'blocks their internet'.

It can't be satire, as it was banned in North Korea.

Well, I wouldn't be 'surprised' if it were real. The fact that it's rather absurd means nothing; remember Iraq's Minister of Defense (Bagdad Bob, I believe we called him), claiming the Americans hadn't sacked Baghdad, with tanks rolling behind him?

Not to mention the old addage, 'Sometime truth is stranger than Fiction'. Oh, crap, I just mentioned it....:p

Then again, they probably would read the Onion, and think that's real...

In Britain we called him Comical Ali

I don't see why it should. All the DPRK government sites are in English.
etc.

I see. Thanks for the links. I agree that it might be an "almost" genuine DPRK site.

and beautifully done too. Love the rectal prolapse story.

Ach.

I was going to include an image of a rectal prolapse but I fear I may have caused offence, so instead, here's a link to a google image search of the same:

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=rectal%20prolapse&btnG=Google+Search&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

Not for the fainthearted.

It isn't officially sanctioned by the North Korean government but I would perhaps believe that it is run by expatriot North Koreans. I don't see anything that would specifically give it away as satire (there are no obvious jokes), and thus I am prepared to believe that it is legit.

Heh. Kinda like the onion: The more ridiculous and absurd it gets, the easier it is to believe.