“Koryo Is Our Land!”
The original photo: “Mount Paektu Is Our Land!”
Photoshop Number One: “Koryo Is Chinese Land!”
I don’t endorse the claim for an instant, but I can’t deny some enjoyment at watching the panicky retreat from Korean nationalists’ latest classless stunt. Unlike the case with Tokdo, the Koreans have a great deal of their nationhood invested in Mount Paektu. It would be unbecoming of them to be as cowardly in any real dispute about Paekdu as they’ve been furious over Tokdo, a place that is both geographically meaningless and culturally insignificant. So when I see Chinese netizens revealing a bit too much with photoshop jobs like this one, Koreans may have reason to rethink their purposeless alienation of Japan and the United States. It’s a tough neighborhood. Maybe this will clarify the alternatives. They could always ask any North Korean woman in China for extra insight.
Or, they can just go back to ankle-biting the Japanese and Americans. Either way, this has been a fascinating social experiment.
Update: The Koreans aren’t messing around when it comes to fishing rights, however.
Update 2: In case you haven’t seen it, here’s Photoshop Number Two: “Mars Is Our Land, Too!”
I may have underestimated the Chinese sense of satire. Very bad news for the Communist Party. Satire and Communist parties have traditionally had a tense relationship. ht: Occidentalism.
How about a translation? It’d be easier to get the joke if I knew which one this was.
Amateur translation: “Gao Li is a vassal state of China”
Gao Li was a name used for Korea in earlier times.
The title was (intended to be) a translation.
The little martian’s blanked out sign reads, “SB bangzi” (foolish bumpkins) As you noted somewhere else, gaoli bangzi is an insult for Koreans. There is a whole slew of photoshops, including some very nasty, sexist, derogatory ones here: http://www.tianya.cn/publicforum/Content/funinfo/1/928735.shtml
Scroll down near the bottom to see the original Mars image.
When I think of South Korean and Chinese nationalists slugging it out on the Web, I’m reminded of what Kissinger (paraphrased) said about the Iran-Iraq war: This is a conflict you want both sides to carry on for a long time without winning.
Yep. Let there be Stalingrad on the Internet.