Kim Jong-Un bans sarcasm in North Korea—report
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. AP FILE PHOTO
Kim Jong-un is at it again, this time banning his constituents from making sarcastic comments about his totalitarian regime in their everyday conversations.
According to the Independent, making jokes about the supreme leader was not considered a laughing matter, as he feared that people only agreed with him “ironically.”
North Korean authorities gathered citizens in mass meetings to tell them to refrain from engaging in such conversations, as well as to avoid indirect criticism of the authoritarian government.
“One state security official personally organized a meeting to alert local residents to potential ‘hostile actions’ by internal rebellious elements,” an anonymous source was quoted in the report. “The main point of the lecture was ‘Keep your mouths shut!’”
The ban is reportedly in response to two phrases, “This is America’s fault” and “A fool who cannot see the outside world,” which have become popular throughout the totalitarian state.
When said ironically, the former is believed to imply criticism on North Korea, based on the US’ “Thanks, Obama” phrase.
The latter, meanwhile, has been used to mock the supreme leader after he did not attend celebrations held in Russia and China, to mark the end of World War II.
“This habit of the central authorities of blaming the wrong country when a problem’s cause obviously lies elsewhere has led citizens to mock the party,” the anonymous source said.
This isn’t the first time Kim Jong-Un made a seemingly questionable law, as the dictator also forbid the use of his name in 2014 and issued a temporary ban on weddings and funerals last May.
The country, meanwhile, has taken part in multiple weapons tests recently, in an effort to display its nuclear capabilities. Khristian Ibarrola
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