He grins, he fumes, he fights — and through it all, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un dances his way in and out of preposterous situations. That's the premise of a video that has become popular in China and reportedly sparked a protest from North Korea.
Citing "a source in China," the Chosun Ilbo reports that "the North feels the clip, which shows Kim dancing and Kung-Fu fighting, 'seriously compromises Kim's dignity and authority.'"
The newspaper says that after North Korea asked China to stop the video from spreading, "Beijng was unable to oblige."
In the video, Kim's face is superimposed onto a kitchen sink's worth of videos, in scenes taken from everything from viral dance videos and TV shows to the vaudevillean action film Kung Fu Hustle.
In one segment, Kim pirouettes in a dance studio — before being hit with a kick delivered by President Obama. Other world leaders also make appearances, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
And while a couple of sequences make fun of Kim's fascination with weaponry, we'll note that the video doesn't accuse the North Korean leader of not having rhythm.
As Boing Boing's Xeni Jardin reports, the whole thing is set to "a Chinese pop hit by the Chopstick Brothers, which was pretty amazing in its own right."
The Chosun Ilbo says the video is the work of "a Chinese man surnamed Zhang from Suzhou who reportedly studied at Kyonggi University in South Korea."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDEwMTk5OTQ0MDEzNDkxMDYyMDQ2MjdiMw004))
