Nork pixels get smacked by American studs and the Norks don't like it one bit.

(Day Seven of the Korean Ministry of of Information and Communications ban)

(NOTE: Morgan Rasco sent me the link for this post so Morgan gets the BIG YANGBAN LOVE today. Morgan, you are always welcome at my jeongja.)

In their quest to find realistic settings in which to kill people, the developers of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 have set their next game in East Asia, namely North Korea. Needless to say the Norks (who still can't seem to get their little minds around the idea that a nation's government is not behind everything that goes on in a free society) are complaining:

Scenes from videos of the game, debuted at this year's E3, caught North Korea's attention. “Through propaganda, entertainment and movies,” read a recent column in the Tongil newspaper, "[Americans] have shown everyone their hatred for us. This may be just a game to them now, but a war will not be a game for them later. In war, they will only face miserable defeat and gruesome deaths.”

Such strong words did not seem to deter Christopher Allen, a designer on the Ghost Recon 2 team. “When we developed the story background, we aimed at staying away from key current or specific events while still having a reasonable setting for a conflict,” Allen wrote. “We are focusing the story on a splinter group in the North Korean military that sparks this conflict, not the entire country.”

I am not sure that this is a good marketing idea for the folks at Red Storm (the game's developers). Koreans play a lot of these kinds of games and if some commie-loving group of college children get it in their heads that this is "anti Korean race" then they could very well force PC Bang and computer game store owners not to carry the game. Remember what happened to the last 007 movie?

BTW, click here to check out the cool screen-shot. Nothing better than a shoot-out at the local temple.

Comments

[Michael]

"Americans have shown their hatred for us." From Yonhap:
"June 24 -- Members of the Kimilsung Socialist Youth League and the Democratic Women's Union hold anti-American rallies in Pyongyang to mark the 54th anniversary of the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War.
June 25 -- Anti-American rallies in which about one million people take part are held in Pyongyang on the anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War.
June 27 -- Mass anti-American rallies are held in the provinces of South Pyongan, North Hwanghae and Kangwon to mark the anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War." Hey, right back at ya!

[Paul H.]

Thanks for the link to the old article about the Korean reaction to the 007 movie. I remember reading about this reaction at the time the movie was released, but not in as much detail.

Thank God I didn't pay to see it in a theater at the time. Finally saw it on pay TV a while ago, and it has to be the worst Bond movie ever made simply on esthetic grounds.

Pierce Brosnan remains an awful Bond, still totally unhumorous, and now that the producer and director started using computerized special effects, there's no fun to be had from watching real stuntmen do actual stunts on film anymore.

[jtb]

more reasons why inviting commissars to computer-gaming parties is wrong... (and not in the good way!)

[DiaKorea]

If there was a FAIR SOFA then the usa would not try and pull the crap they are trying to pull. This game is nothing but a training camp for BU$H youth to learn to be anti-Qorean terrorism.

Qorea and USA need a fair SOFA to stop all the killing of people like Kimsong il and all peas loving people form the peasful place called qorea. If you just look at the facts you will see that most crime in Qorea is done by GI and all the dope peddeling is done by drunk Canadians.

[QBJ]

DiaKorea,

How did the ROK/USA SOFA play any part in the unfortunate kidnapping and murder of Mr. Kim by the Muslim terrorists in IRAQ?

Really? I'm curious as to how you view the two subjects as linked in any way, shape, form, or matter. Did the terrorists kill Mr. Kim because they felt that the SOFA was unfair? Nothing in the statment they read even mentioned the ROK/USA SOFA. So based upon what facts do you make a connection?

Second question- what color is the sky in your world?

Your answers may be related.

[DiaKorea]

I am just the messanger. As you know Kimsong il loved iraq and hated usa. a lot of people are sugesting that he had some real blockbuser secrets about iraq and the USFK who have a SOFA with iraq.

I am just pointing out that the USA has unequeal relationship with Iraq and QOrea and that is part of the reason that Kimsongil was murderd. it it the fault of the USFK. if you dont belve me the go ask his family.

I think becaue you are foreiger you have simple mind. Qorean people have 5000 years of history so we are much more developed the USA with only 200 short years. also to answer your final question. as you know Qorea has 4 seasons so the sky is summer sky. you are just simple foreigner.

[The Yangban]

QBJ,

Consider yourself officially baited.

"DiaKorea," who has also been around lately under at least one other name, is not a Korean (he makes the wrong mistakes in his English) but likes to pretend to be one in order to start a flame war on my poor blog.

I was thinking about deleting his post but I guess I have to keep it now that he has hooked somebody.

Congrats "DieKorea."

[Morgan]

Whoa, it was just a funny link about the (d)norks getting their panties in a wad over a computer game. I'm reminded of the martial arts instructor in the Wierd Al movie "UHF" when he said..."You sooo stooopid!" heh

Morgan

[QBJ]

Damn,.....hook line and sinker....

Well, I'll look pretty mounted on a wall somewhere.......

[Jason]

Andy, a personal note...how come I don't see you on yahoo chat anymore? I got news, my friend.

[Caine]

I've heard of some silly reactions in my time, but this one is up there.

I've played plenty of Video games, and I have yet to find one that actually prepared me for combat. You can't "respawn" in combat, nor can you run full out and blaze away on full-auto for 20 minutes at a crack.

So, North Korea wants the US to pay them NOT to build reactors (for makeing Nukes)...then they get their undies in a bunch because a Game Developer uses a fictional "Seperatist" branch from their admittedly hostile country as the antagonist in a GAME.

Well, who should we use in lieu of North Korea? How about Rhode Island? They're really small. And, they can't really say too much about it...since they're us. Lichtenstein? They have an Army of 1...literally. Even if they get mad, I'm pretty sure we can contain the damage their "Soldier" will do. No, wait, let's use the Vatican!!! Rogue Catholic Priests!!! They attack with communion waffers, drunk on wine, stragling their opponents with Rosery beads!! Perfect!

I think the hypocracy is hilarious. I'm pre-ordering the game now.

Caine

[TE]

Of course the North Koreans are frightened. Kids in the strongest country in the world are having fun in shooting down North Koreans (although it's just a game). This superpower is ready to destroy North Korea. I would be frightened out of my wits. I'm not on Kim Jongil's side but I still understand their fear.

[TE]

You have to understand that North Koreans don't have video games. How would they understand the fun in it? And North Korean protests are organized so you don't have to worry about them.

[TE]

I don't have much problems to this game if it depicts the North Koreans correctly.
There is an obvious mistake that I've seen in an older game which I think is called "Longbow Apache". The North Koreans were dressed in NVA uniforms.
I saw an old movie with a story that was actually good but looked fake. These kids try to rescue their father from North Korea. Unfortunately, there were South Korean civilians with machine guns and an American car from the 50s. This movie was set in the 90s.

[TE]

The movie made South Korea look like a mixture of Hong Kong and Cuba.