3

An interview I saw on YouTube of North Korea's Kim Jong Un and some American talk show host had him listening to an American singer named Katy Perry.

Similarly, an article from The Diplomat says

The traditional diplomatic team of a former U.S. president and former secretary of state coupled with cultural icons like Katy Perry and Michael Jordan could offer the most effective mission for the Pyongyang crowd.

It seems very out of character to me that Kim listens to Katy Perry, drinks margaritas, and watches NBA basketball yet has such a fiercely anti-Western persona. At most, I would guess that he's pretending to be a fan in that interview just to improve his image in the West (?). Has any research been done on this or is there any reason to think that he really has Western tastes like this?

Improve this question
1
  • Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.
    – Sklivvz
    Sep 24, 2017 at 9:37

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
43

What you were watching was almost certainly a clip from the 2014 comedy film The Interview:

Dave Skylark is the host of the talk show Skylark Tonight, where he interviews celebrities about personal topics and gossip. […] Skylark discovers that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is a fan of Skylark Tonight, prompting Rapaport to arrange an interview.

…

Kim eventually cries uncontrollably and soils himself after Skylark sings "Firework" by Katy Perry (having learned of Kim's fondness of Perry earlier), ruining his reputation.

Needless to say, this film is entirely fictional. In reality, Kim has never been interviewed by any American talk show hosts, and his tastes in American music are not known to the public.

Improve this answer
10
  • 3
    Oh, wow. It seems you're absolutely correct. Don't they usually have some basis in reality for jokes like that though? His father was definitely known to like the NBA and a few things like that. Is Un known or suspected to have any tastes for Western culture?
    – Hack-R
    Sep 22, 2017 at 13:10
  • 3
    The film was based almost exclusively on satire
    – MrDuk
    Sep 22, 2017 at 14:45
  • 5
    Dennis Rodman (former NBA player) is friends with Kim Jong-un (express.co.uk/news/world/816619/…), which may indicate he likes NBA basketball.
    – Jeff
    Sep 22, 2017 at 19:15
  • 1
    Can you reference that " Kim has never been interviewed by any American talk show hosts"?
    – Sklivvz
    Sep 23, 2017 at 9:48
  • 1
    @Sklivvz Good question. How does one go about proving a negative of that sort here? The isolation of the North Korean leadership is legendary; if Kim had actually been interviewed by an American journalist, there would be extensive media documentation of that event.
    – user42059
    Sep 23, 2017 at 16:52

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .