The fisherman later took a photo stretching out his arms, as if to say “I caught a Kim Jong Un this big!”
Photo by: Daniel Clinton
Yesterday the White House released a press brief stating that “diplomatic friction continues with North Korea, as their government develops an assault on the American lifestyle.” In the recent months, news of the rogue nation’s advancements in their nuclear weapons program has caused severe concern for the United States and its allies. Military exercises have doubled on both sides of the 38th Parallel, leading to tensions in the region reminiscent to the end of the Korean War.
Despite an all-out war on the horizon, polls of the American population have shown a lack of concern for the growing North Korean threat; the general public seems doubtful that events taking place halfway around the globe will ever have an effect on their personal lives. However, more recent
developments could change these sentiments, as it seems Kim Jong Un’s regime intends to hit the average American where it hurts: their Instagram accounts.
In a special announcement on the Korean Public Broadcasting Station, KPBS, citizens were informed of a new weapons advancement, claiming “the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has successfully tested a photo bomb in the Sea of Japan at approximately 0642 hours.” This was later confirmed by the US State Department, identifying the victim as Japanese fisherman Mushi Moto, whose morning selfie depicted him holding a mackerel with the caption “first catch of the day” which appeared to show the Korean dictator, Kim Jong Un, glaring menacingly from an inner tube in the background.
US intelligence officials claim they had been aware of the DPRK’s photo bomb program for sometime, but were surprised themselves by the rapid advancements in their technological capabilities, noting that just two years ago tests were only conducted by pelting unfortunate South Koreans with Polaroids.
North Korean state media continued with a threat calling this only the beginning, and warned, “soon no imperialist photo, be it a family portrait or a gym selfie, a cute baby photo or pretentious food pic, will be safe from our dear and glorious leader’s terrifying presence and gaze. Our enemies will not think about sending that nude without first checking over their shoulder. This is brought to them in part by contributions from viewers like you … thank you.”
However, the threat to include Kim Jong Un in every photo has shown to be counterproductive. After the announcement, people all over America began staging photo shoots, hoping that the Korean leader would appear in the background.The hashtag #KimJongUnavailable began trending on Twitter and Instagram, captioning countless photos of empty chairs at weddings, bar mitzvahs, and other events. It appears as though the American public is
embracing the meme from their neighbors of the North and to the left.
While this threat to the American people has proved to be ineffective, the DPRK’s response is yet to be known. Speculation has been made that this disregard of the country’s threat could result in a doubling down of their efforts to develop a reliable nuclear ICBM. However, with reports of Kim Jong Un’s affinity for Snapchat filters, the program may be here to stay.
Written by Brandon Moguel and Paola Diaz
Brandon Mougel is an MQ Alumni
