Thumb Drive Invasion
“They see the leisure, the freedom. They realize that this isn’t the enemy; it’s what they want for themselves. It cancels out everything they’ve been told. And when that happens, it starts a revolution in their mind.” That’s Kang Chol-hwan in how he hopes to ultimately overthrow the North Korean government. Kang’s weapon of choice: Thousands of thumb drives loaded with American entertainment from episodes of Desperate Housewives to bootlegged copies of Judd Apatow Movies. Can access to this kind of content really lead to a revolution? Wired’s Andy Greenberg takes a very interesting look at the plot to free North Korea with smuggled episodes of Friends. (Maybe they should send over episodes of Two and a Half Men to prove that pretty much anyone in a free society can get a job in showbiz.)