# Crappy Photoshop job by North Korea? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 10, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-photoshop-job-by-north-korea/472065 "2008-11-10T17:41:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![spockerel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@spockerel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spockerel)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2008, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-photoshop-job-by-north-korea/472065/21 "2008-11-10T23:06:31Z")
Anyone else a little weirded out that the right complete photo and the wrong complete photo are so similar, even down to the missing black bar behind KJI? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2008, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-photoshop-job-by-north-korea/472065/22 "2008-11-10T23:44:58Z")
The concrete is several centimeters taller behind Kim. Careless. I’d say Photoshopped. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2008, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-photoshop-job-by-north-korea/472065/23 "2008-11-10T23:51:33Z")
If that is a photoshop job, the blend around his head is amazingly good quality. Therefore I suspect it’s not a photoshop job at all. And I am very experienced in the art, so I think I’d be able to tell. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2008, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-photoshop-job-by-north-korea/472065/24 "2008-11-10T23:55:33Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > The concrete is several centimeters taller behind Kim. > > Careless. > > I’d say Photoshopped. Consistent with my theory that it is not a contiguous wall but sectional pieces of concrete. ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2008, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-photoshop-job-by-north-korea/472065/25 "2008-11-10T23:56:20Z")
The poor guy who 'shopped it was probably using some cheap Chinese pirate software with a Xeroxed cover in B&W. Or MS Paint. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-photoshop-job-by-north-korea/472065/26 "2008-11-11T00:03:29Z")
> [@WF\_Tomba](#): > > Actually, I think the “complete” photo shown on that page is a completely different picture. I agree - in the ‘complete’ shot, the hands of the person on the left of him are clearly visible- in the cropped shot, they’re in shadow. It’s not the same photo in both cases. It’s possible, I suppose, that a number of photos were taken of that setup and the best photo of the leader was shopped into the best photo of the group, but at the moment, it’s looking to me very much like one of those typical ‘fake! teh pixuls are wrong!’ things that abound on the internet. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-photoshop-job-by-north-korea/472065/27 "2008-11-11T00:12:14Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Consistent with my theory that it is not a contiguous wall but sectional pieces of concrete. I’m not even sure it is concrete at all. It appears to have an uneven turned up lip at the base of the stand, like it’s draped paper or similar. In fact, if you’re going to composite in a pic of Kim Jong Il, put in a better one than that - he looks like a dishevelled unwell old man who has wandered in accidentally. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-photoshop-job-by-north-korea/472065/28 "2008-11-11T00:14:06Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Consistent with my theory that it is not a contiguous wall but sectional pieces of concrete. Then why is the top of the wall behind Kim fuzzy, unlike the rest of it? ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-photoshop-job-by-north-korea/472065/29 "2008-11-11T00:19:15Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > I don’t see the point at all. Everyone knows that KJI has three nipples, and I certainly do NOT see three nipples on the man purported to be him in this photo. I didn’t know about the three nipple man; does he have a slow hand? Anyway, that’s proof enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![PopeJewish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@PopeJewish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PopeJewish)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-photoshop-job-by-north-korea/472065/30 "2008-11-11T02:26:37Z")
> [@WF\_Tomba](#): > > Yes, the site **Projammer** linked to definitely has the wrong complete photo. Here is a page with the correct one, unfortunately very small. > > [BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | 'Fake photo' revives Kim rumours](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7715458.stm) Still, in this photo you can quite clearly see the shadow behind KJI is at a completely different angle (not just width) to those cast by everyone around him. Also the meshing isn’t that hard to do, especially if the original photo of KJI was taken against a white/light background that’d enable you to take everything darker than some X variable. The guy on You Suck At Photoshop took a hammock and pasted it against a tropical background using this technique, it brought the mesh over just fine and he didn’t even really fine tune it, you could see the background between the mesh of the hammock just fine ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-photoshop-job-by-north-korea/472065/31 "2008-11-11T02:48:49Z")
> [@WF\_Tomba](#): > > Hah, I love that one. Imagine the call coming down from the Revolutionary Guard brass: “Excellent picture, but we feel that _four_ missiles will more effectively demonstrate our might to the Western imperialists.” I don’t think the point was “four missiles are scarier than three.” I think the point was that they didn’t want us to know that one of the missiles didn’t fire, so they 'shopped in a fake missile to cover the malfunctioning launcher. > [@WF\_Tomba](#): > > Actually, I think the “complete” photo shown on that page is a completely different picture. > [@Mangetout](#): > > I agree - in the ‘complete’ shot, the hands of the person on the left of him are clearly visible- in the cropped shot, they’re in shadow. It’s not the same photo in both cases. Even more obvious, look at the man to Kim’s left (our right) of Kim. In the “complete” photo, his pants legs are smooth and he has medals or a patch high on his left chest. In the blowup, his pants legs are rumpled and there’s nothing on his chest except the diagonal leather strap. Not to mention the heights of the two men to our right of Kim. In one picture, the one closest to Kim is the taller one, in the other picture, he’s shorter. Definitely two different pics. ---
**Author:** ![Henrichek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5daacb/32.png) [@Henrichek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Henrichek)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-photoshop-job-by-north-korea/472065/32 "2008-11-11T03:09:44Z")
Is Kim Jong ill? ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-photoshop-job-by-north-korea/472065/33 "2008-11-11T03:34:05Z")
> [@PopeJewish](#): > > Still, in this photo you can quite clearly see the shadow behind KJI is at a completely different angle (not just width) to those cast by everyone around him. . . . except the one guy wearing similar style pants. Is there any reason to believe it’s not just an old pic? ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-photoshop-job-by-north-korea/472065/34 "2008-11-11T03:58:46Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > I didn’t know about the three nipple man; does he have a slow hand? Anyway, that’s proof enough for me. Slow hand? How about an [extra hand](http://photoshopdisasters.blogspot.com/2008/05/daily-fail-what-is-your-major.html) instead? ---
**Author:** ![PopeJewish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@PopeJewish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PopeJewish)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-photoshop-job-by-north-korea/472065/35 "2008-11-11T04:18:44Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > . . . except the one guy wearing similar style pants. > > Is there any reason to believe it’s not just an old pic? er… look again? The guy with the similar pants’ shadow is at around a 70 degree angle, whereas the shadow cast by KJI’s pants is nearly 90 degrees. His is the only shadow at a nearly 90 degree angle ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-photoshop-job-by-north-korea/472065/36 "2008-11-11T04:29:35Z")
> [@PopeJewish](#): > > er… look again? The guy with the similar pants’ shadow is at around a 70 degree angle, whereas the shadow cast by KJI’s pants is nearly 90 degrees. His is the only shadow at a nearly 90 degree angle Not seeing the big discrepancy; they all seem to pretty much follow the line of the pants. No one else has on pants as straight as Kim’s. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-photoshop-job-by-north-korea/472065/37 "2008-11-11T04:37:32Z")
I think there’s a tendancy to wrongly view North Koreans as a bunch of hayseed simpletons working with technology from the 70’s. The country has problems to be sure, but some of them, especially in the government, do have access to reasonable technology, and they are not without finesse. ---
**Author:** ![Tenebras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@Tenebras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenebras)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-photoshop-job-by-north-korea/472065/38 "2008-11-11T04:40:38Z")
That’s because Dear Leader only wears the most hetero pants in all of North Korea. And every week they go through the officer corps, and whoever has the gayest pants on gets shot. It’s a motivational tool. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-photoshop-job-by-north-korea/472065/39 "2008-11-11T04:43:11Z")
I’d just like to say that, if it _is_ a Photoshop job, and I don’t think it is, it’s a damned good one, and not “crappy” at all. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-photoshop-job-by-north-korea/472065/40 "2008-11-11T04:49:33Z")
> [@WF\_Tomba](#): > > Actually, I think the “complete” photo shown on that page is a completely different picture. Agreed. 1 - The soldiers on either side of him have their hands behind their backs in the zoomed-in version, but they’re at their sides in the complete photo. 2 - The soldiers on either side of him are wearing some sort of badge/medal on their left breasts in the complete photo; these are absent or not reflecting light the same way in the zoomed photo. 3 - The soldier to KJI’s left is noticeably taller that KJI in the complete photo, but closer to equal height in the zoomed photo. 4 - Those leg shadows are completely different in the two photos. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-photoshop-job-by-north-korea/472065.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crappy-photoshop-job-by-north-korea/472065.md?page=3)