Top Gear has a habit of poking fun at, um, everyone. Considering that, we find the idea that "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-un is thinking about allowing the world's greatest motoring show onto the ultra-censored screens of North Korea to be kind of surprising. After all, what will happen when Clarkson and Co. crack wise about anything related to the Hermit Kingdom? It won't be good.
The decision to select TG, alongside British television staples like Dr. Who and Teletubbies, came after many months of negotiations between the Communist regime and the BBC, according to The Independent.
"Extensive inquiries have been made about what these three shows involve and if they would be suitable for the [North] Korean people," a source in the capital, Pyongyang, told the paper. "Anything too political was not suitable but these are entertainment shows, and one of them is for young children."
According to The Indepndent, North Korea's sole broadcaster, Korean Central Television, only airs programming for six and a half hours each night. Citizens who watch unauthorized programs, meanwhile, could face death - 80 people were shot last year for allegedly watching pirated programs from arch-nemesis/neighbor South Korea. That makes expanded programming a pretty solid idea, from a human rights standpoint.
Here's hoping that this deal doesn't fall through, and that however many gearheads there are in North Korea will finally get to enjoy Jeremy, Richard and James.
The decision to select TG, alongside British television staples like Dr. Who and Teletubbies, came after many months of negotiations between the Communist regime and the BBC, according to The Independent.
"Extensive inquiries have been made about what these three shows involve and if they would be suitable for the [North] Korean people," a source in the capital, Pyongyang, told the paper. "Anything too political was not suitable but these are entertainment shows, and one of them is for young children."
According to The Indepndent, North Korea's sole broadcaster, Korean Central Television, only airs programming for six and a half hours each night. Citizens who watch unauthorized programs, meanwhile, could face death - 80 people were shot last year for allegedly watching pirated programs from arch-nemesis/neighbor South Korea. That makes expanded programming a pretty solid idea, from a human rights standpoint.
Here's hoping that this deal doesn't fall through, and that however many gearheads there are in North Korea will finally get to enjoy Jeremy, Richard and James.
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