Marathons, memes, and misunderstanding: The West’s flawed view of North Korea
A South Korean boy is held up by his mother as he peers into North Korea from the Dora Observatory on the South Korean side of the DMZ. Image / iStock/Joel Carillet
On April 6, when Scottish YouTuber Lewis Buchan set off through the streets with thousands of other runners at the start of the annual Pyongyang Marathon, the vlogged experience he uploaded onto YouTube quickly went viral.
The video, “Running A Marathon In North Korea (The World’s Strangest Country),” showed enthusiastic crowds, smiling volunteers, and ordinary people cheering on the runners, as with any other such event.
But the viral reaction to the video captured something essential about how North Korea is perceived in the West. While the regime itself is notorious for censorship, nuclear brinkmanship, and human rights abuses, the lives of ordinary North Koreans are often reduced to caricature. Americans and Europeans frequently see the country through memes, late-night comedy monologues, or sensationalist news coverage.
In line with this, at many points throughout his video, Buchan leaned into common memes and stereotypes. In the opening minutes, for example, he joked that Kim Jong-un might join the runners, only to add that he doubted Kim could run very far, before cutting to an unflattering photo of the leader.
When the race began, runners gathered in a packed area where they were surrounded by cheering crowds. Looking into the camera, Buchan admitted he “had no idea what was going on” and said it “felt like they were going to be publicly executed.” Later, when a North Korean official gave a speech in Korean, Buchan, who does not speak the language, overlaid the clip with mocking English commentary.
As the video went on, however, his tone shifted. He became more respectful, noting how warm and friendly people were as they lined the route to cheer on participants.
He also observed that many people were walking the streets of Pyongyang and yet none seemed to be entering shops or buildings. Were the crowds staged by the government, he wondered?
But by the end, Buchan closed on a surprisingly humble note. Although his experience had been overwhelmingly positive, he acknowledged that this was the version of North Korea the government wanted outsiders to see, and not the lived reality of the citizens.
Buchan is not the first Westerner to use North Korea as a punchline, and he won’t be the last. Viral clips of North Korean state TV, jokes about Kim Jong-un’s haircut, and satirical films like The Interview have all contributed to the “meme-ification” of the country. Many western songs mention North Korea as a one-line reference or joke about its nuclear capabilities. In the song Cash in Cash Out by Pharallel Williams featuring 21 Savage and Tyler the Creator, Tyler raps “Kim Jong-Un, in my pants is a missile.”
While this media diet makes North Korea seem absurd and even entertaining, it also flattens the reality of the over 27 million people living within its borders. Rarely does Western coverage dwell on the complexity of daily life, such as the routines of going to school, eating dinner with family, playing sports, or watching foreign films secretly smuggled across the border.
The marathon video, while seemingly lighthearted, reveals just how deeply entrenched Western assumptions about North Korea are. In the comments section, viewers expressed shock that North Koreans were “allowed” to smile, clap, or participate in something that looked like a normal international sports event. Others questioned whether the scenes were staged, unable to reconcile them with the idea of North Korea as nothing more than a grim dystopia.
This reaction highlights a paradox: when ordinary North Koreans are visible, their humanity is often doubted or dismissed. The surprise at seeing “normal” life in Pyongyang is itself telling. Western audiences are not accustomed to seeing North Koreans as people first, citizens of an authoritarian state second.
At first glance, such jokes and caricatures might seem harmless. But they carry consequences. Treating North Koreans as robotic or alien obscures the very real suffering imposed by their government.
Instead of fostering empathy or solidarity, stereotypes create distance. When a population is seen as an object of ridicule, it becomes harder for outsiders to imagine supporting them in meaningful ways.
Given this, it is important that we outsiders consume media created and supported by North Koreans. Instead of making memes and jokes, we need to take the time to educate ourselves, and make sure we are not promoting harmful stereotypes. This can be a small but meaningful resistance against both propaganda and prejudice.
Maren is a recent graduate of Tufts University, where she earned a B.A. in International Relations and minored in French. She is currently interning with NK Insider through the Oslo Scholars Program, an initiative that connects students and recent graduates with human rights activists around the world.
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