In the complex business that is aviation there are always multiple stories vying for the limelight at any one time – bi-laterals gone sour, monster aircraft orders, strikes, equipment problems and on and on. Typically the airlines that grab these headlines are the big players with big budgets and global brand recognition. There are, however, exceptions to this rule – usually driven by something quirky going viral. This past week saw an interesting buzz in the social media-sphere and the star of the show was none other than Air Koryo, the state airline of the Democratic (ahem) People’s Republic of Korea.
Mid-last week Air Koryo’s Facebook page started making the rounds and before long had crept up to 737 likes.
Air Koryo Facebook Screen Capture
That is likely the last time you will hear Air Koryo and 737 in the same sentence since economic sanctions prevent western goods from being sold to North Korea. Looks like dear leader (not to be confused with great leader) will have to remain content with a fleet of Soviet/Russian-built planes for the foreseeable future.
After the Facebook swell, as if by magic, a couple of YouTube clips started making the rounds on Twitter. The clips were screen captures of in-flight videos.
This peek at what goes on north of the DMZ was of particular interest to me – the 1980s style graphics and tone of the video reminded me of watching TV in Vietnam in the early 90’s. For people with a penchant for travel and a fondness for aviation these videos were an interesting intersection of the two.
I thought it was odd that such an obscure carrier could drum up so much buzz in a week. That was until I remembered that North Korea’s leader is a self professed internet expert. With the official webpage of the DPRK all sorted out clearly he set his sights on building his profile in the western world and to reclaim the handle Lil’ Kim from his American namesake.
