North Koreans will this week have a chance to catch The Interview – that’s if they happen to stumble across the contents of a balloon drop on the country.
Sponsored by the U.S.-based Human Rights Foundation (HRF) and carried out by activist group Fighters for Free North Korea (FFNK), the balloon drop is set to take place in the coming days.
Besides DVDs and USBs of the controversial movie, the helium-filled balloons, which carry their consignment in attached plastic bags, will also transport leaflets, transistor radios, and other items geared toward presenting citizens of the so-called ‘hermit kingdom’ with information on the outside world.
As you might expect, the balloon drops, which take place several times a year, don’t go down too well with the rulers in Pyongyang, who’ve described the activists as “human scum,” among other things.
The regime has been directing much of its ire toward Park Sang Hak, a Seoul-based defector who also heads the FFNK. However, in defiance of the North Korean authorities’ stern objections to the group’s activities, the special delivery is set to take place by this Friday, with the exact timing dependent upon weather conditions.
Explaining its position in a statement released Monday, the Human Rights Foundation said, “Despite these and previous threats, HRF will proceed with launching balloons….as part of a broader effort to help defector groups break the Kim regime’s monopoly on information.”
The plan is to send 100,000 copies of The Interview northward from the South Korean border town of Daegwangri. The movie, which depicts a CIA plot to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was at the center of a massive computer hack at Sony Pictures late last year. North Korea, which objected strongly to the movie’s release, was blamed for the cyberattack though it has always strongly denied involvement.
DVD players and computers
With many North Koreans known to be living in impoverished conditions, it’s not clear how many people have access to a DVD player or computer for watching The Interview should they come across it in the coming days. And beyond revealing the state of Seth Rogen’s skills as a comedy writer and actor, the movie is unlikely to offer North Koreans much insight into the outside world.
With that in mind, it seems that sending The Interview into North Korea is designed more to rile the leaders than provide the populace with anything useful, though an evening of free Hollywood-made entertainment may be welcomed by some.
[Via North Korea Tech]
