“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.