[KS] Rhetoric of Hatred: the cornucopia of Korean 4LW's and the English polish..

[Ruediger Frank]

Dear Scott,
I don't want to get political here, but I vaguely remember relatively recent phrases like "unruly children" (Hillary C.) and "I loathe that guy" (George B.). Not very mature either, I'd say. Besides, since when is a comparison across times not allowed. The argument was that other states have applied derogatory rhetoric at times when they felt that was necessary. NK very obviously is in crisis and feels surrounded by enemies. Not that this would justify anything, but it certainly helps to understand. 
Regarding the internet, of course the Korean version is also meant for foreigners; alas, how many North Koreans would have regular access? So we can (and should) regard all of NK's internet propaganda as being directed at foreigners; assuming this only for the English version makes little sense. When Brian wrote about propaganda in Korean, he referred to non-internet sources like Chosòn Munhak or all types of sosòl that are usually only distributed internally or end up being ignored in the big libraries in South Korea or the West.
As much as I agree that Kim3 has a serious legitimacy crisis (I wrote a few words here: http://38north.org/2012/05/rfrank050912/), I do not think that the current outbursts are unique enough to be counted as additional evidence. I remember that very similar verbal derailments were more or less common until the first inter-Korean summit in 2000, and then were picked up again from mid-2008. I agree, though, that the NKs have recently stepped up their efforts at making better (and at technically moe professional) use of the new media. Just look at all the new websites by KCNA and Rodong Sinmun including photos, videos and PDFs. 
I am not saying we shouldn't be worried. With a young leader still struggling for legitimacy, making heavy ideological mistakes along that way, and in the end betting on performance-based legitimacy through economic progress, the chance for conflict on the Korean peninsula is now bigger than last year. So it indeed does make sense watching their propaganda closely. I just don't think what we have seen so far is unique enough; I thus agree with Jim.
Best,
Rudiger





on Donnerstag, 24. Mai 2012 at 03:06 you wrote:


--- On Wed, 5/23/12, jimhoare64 at aol.co.uk <jimhoare64 at aol.co.uk> wrote:

So what we see from KCNA is indeed nasty - but it is not unique.

Well, it is certainly unique in the present historical moment. WWII ended over six decades ago. What other nation-state today deploys such hostile, infantile rhetoric towards its neighbors? I can only think of non-state actors like Al Qaeda, but we all know what kind of organization that is.

The point about reading the original Korean is well-taken, but clearly the DPRK is intent on getting its "message" out into the world in multiple non-Korean languages, as its current revamped Internet offensive attests. In "The Cleanest Race," B.R. Myers argues that DPRK propaganda tends to soften or downplay its frequently racist, or hypernationalistic, message when translated into foreign languages. As Aiden's paper makes clear, such "softening" no longer seems so apparent when perusing official DPRK Web sites these days.

What's going on here? Is this is a sign of some sort of crisis of legitimacy on the part of the new Kim Jong-un regime? Or have the North Koreans belatedly discovered the power of Internet "memes," hoping to have some of them "go viral" if possible? If this discussion is any indication, it seems to be working, doesn't it?

Or, perhaps they're tired of being seen as a sick silly joke by the rest of the world, and have simply decided to double down on the last bad hand they have to play?

--Scott Bug


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