Dushku tells Asawin Suebsaeng at Mother Jones he's not really sure. I was initially surprised. Then, the North Korean government, which has piled up some 11, followers in two-and-a-half years on Twitter, abruptly whittled down the number of accounts it follows, leaving just three.
Dushku made the cut along with a Vietnam account and another official North Korean handle. What has Dushku gotten from the relationship? Death threats, for one thing. Not long after he linked up with North Korea's account, which goes by uriminzok or "our nation" , Dushku says he started getting angry messages from exiles and South Koreans. Since then, he has mostly kept a low profile , just to be safe, although he does occasionally grant interviews to foreign publications. For its part, North Korea gets a rare glimpse at the outside world through Dushku, as his is the only account North Korea follows that is regularly updated — the other two haven't tweeted in months.
As Google boss Eric Schmidt urges North Korea to enter a new age of digital freedom, details have emerged of the few friends the "hermit kingdom" already embraces on Twitter. They are: communist Vietnam, a Pyongyang propaganda site, and a year-old Texan who plays golf with Dennis Quaid and is obsessed with Coldplay. Jimmy Dushku, an investor from Austin who also loves Jammie Dodger biscuits, has revealed he received death threats after fellow Twitter users discovered his unlikely link to the dictatorship.
Mr Dushku has more than 2, followers on the social network. For reasons no one has established, they include uriminzok "our nation" , North Korea's official government account. Do you see what I did there! I'm sure the semi-starving millions would be very amused. But you're right — at the time of writing uriminzok was following only three accounts: Vietnam's, a Pyongyang propaganda site and Mr Dushku's. Maybe Kim Jong-un idolises the actor Eliza Dushku, thinks Jimmy is her brother and is trying to cosy up.
Although the despotic dynasty is not known for its subtlety. Anyway, Jimmy followed North Korea back, out of courtesy, adding, "Have a nice day, my friend" in Korean. Did Texas find out and hang him as a communist? The story emerged as a result of Google chief executive Eric Schmidt's controversial "Embrace the digital future, comrades! Well, I guess exchanging pleasantries with one the world's most repressive regimes is bound to ruffle a few feathers.
You never had your car! And here he is golfing with actor Dennis Quaid , an ex-neighbor whom Dushku affectionately calls "a great guy":. So why, exactly, did North Korea decide to follow Dushku in the first place? He has no personal or political connections to the Hermit Kingdom, much less any affection for its binge-drinking , roller-coaster riding , Kobe Bryant-watching , nuclear-armed supreme leader.
I was initially surprised, but I always try to make friends with people from all different locations and backgrounds. The first tweet below says "Have a nice day, my friend" in Korean. Then came the backlash. After word got out that Dushku was being followed by uriminzok, his inbox was instantly inundated with angry and graphic messages from complete strangers who suspected him of being a sympathizer or even a secret agent of the Korean Workers' Party.
The death threats, primarily from South Koreans and Korean Americans, escalated into attempts to post his address and personal information on forums such as 4chan. As a result, Dushku became seriously concerned for the safety of his family and himself. They always send such cheerful messages and it's a nice change from the negative ones.
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