Following the visit of Google arch geek Eric Schmidt to North Korea last week, it seems that the state is actively plugging into the 21st century- all the better to keep tabs on its neighbours.
s much as it claims to be getting involved in the international online community, North Korea isn’t taking the most straightforward leap into modern social media, following just a few users on Twitter to date. One of these is Texan Jimmy Dushku- and he claims to have absolutely no idea why.
Tweeting under the tag of @uriminzok, meaning our nation, rather ironic, as at best most North Koreans only have access to a national intranet, in addition to Dushku, North Korea also follows the more obvious Vietnam, and North Korean propaganda site @Pyongyang_DPRK.
North Korea isn’t taking the most straightforward leap into modern social media, following just a few users on Twitter to date
A little digging into Dushku’s background only adds to the confusion. Somewhat of a prodigy, Mr Dushku was a web developer in his teens, and at the age of 25, has earned the title of property and construction tycoon, with an investment portfolio that ranges from Texas to Brazil and Peru. Oh, he also plays golf with Dennis Quaid. All very interesting, but unless Kim Jong Un is hoping to exploit this connection to the star of classic film hits The Day After Tomorrow and G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra, nothing that would suggest an obvious interest for this hermit nation.
On his Twitter account, Dushku bills himself as, “Just a young guy trying to make the world a better place.” Perhaps Kim Jong Un is tapping into the positive associations of Dushku’s wholesome Coldplay loving, private jetting personal brand, after his own New Year’s speech urging for peace and unity for the two Koreas was internationally derided?
Global antipathy for North Korea has translated into a backlash against Dushku for engaging with this notorious oppressor of human rights
If so, he’s fighting an uphill battle. Global antipathy for North Korea has translated into a backlash against Dushku for engaging with this notorious oppressor of human rights, and he has received extensive threatening messages claiming that unless he servers all ties, harm will come to him and his family. Although he refrains from discussing the affair in Western media, in spite of all this, Dushku remains fairly blasé, and it seems in the future he may take up the standing invitation from Pyongyang officials to visit in person.
As Dushku sees it, it’s the citizens of North Korea that he is ultimately interested in connecting with, noting that, “I have been very interested in the country, from a historical point of view, for many years now. Behind all of the headlines you see on the news, there are people who live there.”
