Yeah, Right: North Korea Bans Sarcasm
Is it really possible to ban sarcasm? We're about to find out. Since reaching an armistice in July of 1953, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, better known as North Korea, has existed in a unique geopolitical sphere. For more than half a century the population has been isolated, impoverished and subjected to levels of surveillance and state-sponsored terrorism beyond even the dystopian tomes of George Orwell. This is 1984 in real life. Many, many crimes are punishable by having not just the offender, but also his or her family to the third generation, carted off to a concentration camp. Most foreign media is banned. Some haircuts are banned! Well, technically, only 28 are approved… but anyhow, here's the latest, strangest thing. According to US-owned Radio Free Asia, North Korea is attempting to ban sarcasm.
That's right – sarcasm, the use of irony to convey contempt or mock someone. At the end of August central government authorities organized mass meetings wherein they warned North Korean citizens that using sarcasm in reference to the government or its hereditary ruler Kim Jong-Un, even in casual conversation, would be an unforgiveable offense. It appears, you see, that the Supreme Leader feels people are only agreeing with him ironically. Sort of yes-manning him while also making fun of him. Poor guy. This leads us to several questions, the most immediate of which is: How do you ban sarcasm? It's such a contextual mode of expression, often misread by people who speak the same language fluently! Like, you've had somebody be sincere and you think they're being sarcastic or vise versa. It just happens. The North Korean government aims to do this by restricting what they call “hostile speech.” This includes specific phrases, such as “this is all America's fault!” At first that might sound like an odd one to ban, but, again, it's a matter of context. The citizens of North Korea are using it humorously. So, someone might stub her toe and say “this is all America's fault.” Some guy might be late for work and his boss might say “this is all America's fault.” This phrase specifically lampoons the government's tendency to blame internal or unrelated issues on foreign powers, especially the resident boogeyman of North Korean ideology, good ol' Uncle Sam. Think of this is all America's fault as their version of “Thanks, Obama!”
Using the phrase “a fool who cannot see the outside world” is also forbidden. Banning a specific phrase is much easier than banning a social mode of expression, but at this stage the act seems more of a desperate move to quell internal uprisings, which are occurring more and more frequently. While this law may prevent civilians and officials from saying it to Kim Jong Un himself, censoring speech in this manner tends to give a word or phrase more power than it had in the beginning. And one last thing: though it's easy to make a few quips about sarcasm and move on, the situation in North Korea is by no means a joke. The people are starving, the government is increasingly testing nuclear weapons to provoke regional and global powers, and the regime stands a very good chance of collapsing, especially as the government of China slowly withdraws its support.
That's right – sarcasm, the use of irony to convey contempt or mock someone. At the end of August central government authorities organized mass meetings wherein they warned North Korean citizens that using sarcasm in reference to the government or its hereditary ruler Kim Jong-Un, even in casual conversation, would be an unforgiveable offense. It appears, you see, that the Supreme Leader feels people are only agreeing with him ironically. Sort of yes-manning him while also making fun of him. Poor guy. This leads us to several questions, the most immediate of which is: How do you ban sarcasm? It's such a contextual mode of expression, often misread by people who speak the same language fluently! Like, you've had somebody be sincere and you think they're being sarcastic or vise versa. It just happens. The North Korean government aims to do this by restricting what they call “hostile speech.” This includes specific phrases, such as “this is all America's fault!” At first that might sound like an odd one to ban, but, again, it's a matter of context. The citizens of North Korea are using it humorously. So, someone might stub her toe and say “this is all America's fault.” Some guy might be late for work and his boss might say “this is all America's fault.” This phrase specifically lampoons the government's tendency to blame internal or unrelated issues on foreign powers, especially the resident boogeyman of North Korean ideology, good ol' Uncle Sam. Think of this is all America's fault as their version of “Thanks, Obama!”
Using the phrase “a fool who cannot see the outside world” is also forbidden. Banning a specific phrase is much easier than banning a social mode of expression, but at this stage the act seems more of a desperate move to quell internal uprisings, which are occurring more and more frequently. While this law may prevent civilians and officials from saying it to Kim Jong Un himself, censoring speech in this manner tends to give a word or phrase more power than it had in the beginning. And one last thing: though it's easy to make a few quips about sarcasm and move on, the situation in North Korea is by no means a joke. The people are starving, the government is increasingly testing nuclear weapons to provoke regional and global powers, and the regime stands a very good chance of collapsing, especially as the government of China slowly withdraws its support.
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