Kim Jong Il Looking

I've seen satirical takes on North Korea—The Interview, Team America—but a Tumblr page?

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The Tumblr page "Kim Jong Il Looking At Things" is both hilarious and strangely therapeutic. I mean, take a look for yourself. The book’s description appears on the blog's landing page, opening with the line: "The most photogenic leader is finally featured in a respectable medium." Damn, that’s good. Take my money.

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And how am I just hearing about this?! Created by João Rocha, the blog launched on October 26, 2010, and quickly gained traction on tumblr and r/pics where it went viral. Enough momentum to land a book deal in 2014.

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192 pages of Kim Jong Il. Looking at things, admiring things, touching things. Oddly comforting. No need for capitalist technology—just the sheer presence of the man, observing everything from radishes to fish, with the same level of dignity as his nuclear arsenal.

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Every object he looks at seems to deserve his full attention. It’s awesome. It actually humanizes the man. The photos feel consistent, despite being taken by entirely different photographers across different settings. How did they achieve such a homogenous feel? What was the brief like for the photographers? How was it worded?

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That alone could be a book in itself.