North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is an East Asian totalitarian state that became a frequent subject of internet memes due to its eccentric leadership and international tensions in the 2010s[3].

Where did North Korea memes come from?

North Korea memes trace back to Team America: World Police in 2004, but gained momentum in December 2011 when Kim Jong-Il died and his son Kim Jong-Un became the subject of the Hungry Kim Jong-Un format on Reddit[3][5].

What does North Korea mean in meme culture?

In meme culture, North Korea represents absurdist political humor, with the regime's propaganda and the Kim family's public appearances serving as source material for satirical remixes and photoshops[3].

How do you use North Korea memes?

Common formats include Hungry Kim Jong-Un image macros with food-related captions, binoculars GIFs showing Kim viewing absurd scenes, photoshop battles using the bent-over inspection photo, and the r/Pyongyang ban joke as a reply to North Korea criticism[3][1].

Is North Korea still popular as a meme topic?

North Korea memes remain active, with new formats emerging whenever geopolitical events or propaganda footage provides fresh material. Kim Jong-Un content circulates regularly on TikTok and Twitter[3].

What is the r/Pyongyang meme?

r/Pyongyang is a satirical subreddit created December 21, 2011 that parodies North Korean propaganda. Its strict ban policy spawned the running joke where users reply to North Korea criticism with "you have been banned from r/Pyongyang"[1].

What was the Hungry Kim Jong-Un meme?

Hungry Kim Jong-Un is an image macro series showing Kim examining objects with captions suggesting he wants to eat them. It started December 19, 2011 when Redditor GunnieGraves posted "Kim Jong Un looks….hungry" to r/funny, receiving over 7,200 upvotes[3].

What happened with the 28 websites leak?

On September 19, 2016, a misconfigured nameserver accidentally revealed North Korea's entire public internet had only 28 websites. Security engineer Matt Bryant discovered the leak, and Reddit traffic crashed most of the sites within days[4].

Where did the Rocket Man meme come from?

On September 17, 2017, President Trump tweeted about Kim Jong-Un using the nickname "Rocket Man," referencing North Korea's missile tests. Twitter responded with photoshops and Elton John mashups[2].

What is the Kim Jong-Un binoculars meme?

This meme uses March 2013 footage of Kim inspecting a military facility while looking through binoculars. Users edit the GIF to show him viewing humorous scenes in the distance[3].

North Korea

2004culture / political humoractive

Published September 10, 2026

North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, became a prolific source of internet humor as international tensions rose in the 2010s. The totalitarian state's eccentric leadership, nuclear threats, and extreme isolation spawned numerous meme formats including Hungry Kim Jong-Un, the binoculars photoshop series, and the r/Pyongyang subreddit's satirical ban messages. From the 2004 Team America portrayal to the 2016 revelation that the country had only 28 public websites, North Korea transformed from geopolitical threat to recurring punchline across social media platforms.

internet memes

Overview

North Korea memes typically exploit the contrast between the regime's grandiose self-presentation and its widely perceived absurdity. Formats range from image macros depicting Kim Jong-Un as perpetually hungry to elaborate photoshop battles placing the dictator in ridiculous scenarios. The humor often relies on the regime's theatrical propaganda footage, which provides endless source material for remixing3.

A defining characteristic of North Korea memes is their satirical edge. The r/Pyongyang subreddit parodies the DPRK's information control through its notorious ban policy, spawning the running joke where Redditors reply to North Korea criticism with "you have been banned from r/Pyongyang"1. Similarly, Trump's "Rocket Man" nickname for Kim Jong-Un in 2017 generated thousands of photoshops and Elton John references across Twitter2. The memes treat nuclear brinkmanship as comedy fodder.

The format extends beyond just the Kim family. The 2016 accidental leak revealing North Korea had only 28 public websites became instant viral material, with Reddit users rushing to explore obscure .kp domains before they crashed from traffic spikes4. This incident showed how even infrastructure details could become meme-worthy when filtered through the lens of North Korean absurdism.

Origin & Background

Platform

Multiple (4chan, Reddit, Twitter)

Date

2004

North Korea's emergence as an internet meme subject traces back to the 2004 film "Team America: World Police" by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone5. The puppet comedy featured Kim Jong-Il as its villain, complete with the satirical song "I'm So Ronery" mocking his supposed accent. When Kim Jong-Il died on December 19, 2011, "Team America" immediately trended on Twitter as users flooded the platform with references to the film6.

The torch passed to Kim Jong-Un almost immediately. On December 19th, 2011, Redditor GunnieGraves submitted a post titled "Kim Jong Un looks….hungry" featuring the new leader pointing at an object with the caption "Ok so…can I eat this?" The post hit the front page of r/funny and received over 7,200 upvotes3. By January 2012, Funny or Die published a compilation of Hungry Kim Jong-Un examples, and by April 2012, the Quickmeme page had over 1,753 user submissions3. The r/Pyongyang subreddit was created on December 21st, 2011, just two days after Kim Jong-Il's death1.

How It Spread

How to Use This Meme

North Korea memes work across several established formats. For Hungry Kim Jong-Un, find a photo of the leader examining something and add a caption suggesting he wants to eat it. For binoculars memes, take the 2013 footage of Kim looking through binoculars and edit what he's supposedly viewing. The r/Pyongyang joke works as a reply to anyone criticizing North Korea with "you have been banned from r/Pyongyang" or praising them with "you have been made a moderator of r/Pyongyang." For photoshop battles, the bent-over inspection photo from 2013 works as a versatile template for placing Kim in absurd situations.

North Korea

Overview

Origin & Background

How It Spread

How to Use This Meme

Frequently Asked Questions

References (11)