Maybe it's his youthful open-mindedness, maybe it's because he's related to a hipster, but no matter the explanation, there's no doubt that very cool things are happening for North Korea under the leadership of Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un.

Most recently, the development of North Korea's very own, government-engineered tablet computer, lovingly named "Arirang," after a sick Korean folk hymn (check that shit on Spotify).

The Atlantic Wire reports that hard-hitting "North Korean state television anchors are trumpeting it as a next-generation device developed and produced by the government's own Pyongyang Information Technology Bureau," but unfortunately "the tablet appears to be a generic Chinese iPad clone." Apparently the Arirang's Chinese-equivalent sells for between $40 and $120 a tablet, which according to our rough calculations, is a little more than eight times the monthly income of an average North Korean citizen.

But hey, just because the people of North Korea didn't think up the iPad, that doesn't mean they can't make the Arirang into their own, unique cultural thing! All they need is a good campaign slogan. Some suggestions:

  • Arirang: The Only, and Therefore Most Amazing, Tablet Yet
  • Arirang: Think Different, but Not Too Different Because We Don't Want You to Rebel
  • Arirang: The Biggest Thing to Happen to North Korea Since The Bobbing Duck Toy
  • Arirang: You May One Day Be Able to See a Picture of It
  • Arirang: Connects to the Internet, Even If You Don't Know What That Is
  • Arirang: One Fantastic, Government-Approved App. And Counting
  • Arirang: It Just Works, Don't Ask How or We'll Put You in Jail
  • Arirang: Worth More Than What You Spend on Food in a Year
  • Arirang: No, It Is Not a Surface On Which You Serve Food
  • Arirang: Look, We Know You're Hungry, But This Is Still Cool, Right?

[The Atlantic Wire; photo via KCNA]