With Rodman in North Korea, VICE Has An Ace Up Their Sleeve

By Rob Winn in News on Mar 2, 2013 9:00PM

Dennis Rodman with new BFF Kim Jong Un, from the front page of North Korean newspaper the Rodong Sinmun. (via Shanghaiist)

Dennis Rodman, last seen on Celebrity Rehab, was called on a "basketball diplomacy" trip to North Korea. The North Korea that has shunned visitors and jailed journalists from the west for decades. Shit, the jokes practically write themselves. Rodman even had us going there for a minute when a few quotes made their way online. ABC news reported:

At Pyongyang's Sunan airport on his way to Beijing, Rodman said it was "amazing" that the North Koreans were "so honest." He added that Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung, North Korea's founder, "were great leaders."

"He's proud, his country likes him - not like him, love him, love him," Rodman said of Kim Jong Un. "Guess what, I love him. The guy's really awesome."

But in reality Rodman and his reliably ridiculous quotes are just a smoke screen. The interesting part to this whole story is the small production crew from VICE who accompanied Rodman.

For anyone who hasn't seen The Vice Guide To North Korea, watch it immediately. Narrator and VICE founder Shane Smith takes you into places very few United States citizens have seen, from a tourist-trap tea shop that hasn't seen a tourist for ages to Pyongyang's main luxury hotel, which sits empty and looks vaguely like Chicago's downtown federal correctional facility.

However, throughout all three episodes it becomes increasingly clear that Smith is frustrated by his inability to shake his tour guides — actually military accompaniment — and document the North Korea they don't want you to see. It culminates with Smith singing a karaoke version of "Anarchy in the U.K." in front of his shocked and perplexed North Korean accompaniment. Then came Kim Jong Il's death, who was succeeded by his basketball-obsessed son, Kin Jong Un. Enter Rodman.

Apparently VICE and their cameras were able to sidle up to the new North Korean dictator by bringing along Rodman and several members of the Harlem Globetrotters. This was all shot for VICE's upcoming weekly show on HBO. According to the reported details Rodman and Kim Jong Un watch a basketball game together, which featured two Americans on each team playing alongside North Koreans. The game ended in a 110-110 tie. Considering his dad's penchant for improbable athletic feats, it's surprising Un didn't come off the bench and ice the game Jordan-style.

As Smith said on his last visit to North Korea, "You're not a tourist, you're on a tour. You come in, you're shown what you're shown. You're escorted out." Looks like VICE found a way to squirm around that with the help of a former basketball player who is known as "The Worm."