North Korean Anti-U.S. Propaganda Is About as Unsettling as You'd Expect

When countries wrestle each other for dominance on the world stage, government-sponsored propaganda can get pretty intense.

But, geez, some of the anti-American stuff that came out of North Korea during the Korean War was brutal.

“The more restrictive a government and the less information that flows, the less aware its people become,” Alex Wain writes for So Bad So Good.

“Once that starts occurring, it’s infinitely easier [to] set the agenda according to your own interests. That’s the sole aim with any form of propaganda, cherry pick information designed influence an audience in an emotional rather than rational manner,” Wain add.

And that’s the point of this North Korean propaganda. It doesn’t attack the U.S. for past failings. Rather, it accuses U.S. servicemen of engaging in some pretty messed up (albeit fictional) stuff. The point is simple: terrify the people of Korea into blind obedience to their "protective" government.

Here’s some of the more disturbing anti-U.S. propaganda put out during the war [content warning: some of the following images depict graphic violence. Proceed with caution]:

“Currently few do that better than North Korea -- a country equally as secretive as it is restrictive,” Wain reminds us.

“They’re not huge fans of the United States but then, why would you be if you’d been bombard constantly with these grizzly and gruesome images?” he adds.

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This post has been updated.