This comic strip is about the North Korean communist regime. It presents its meaning in a humorous manor in order to make it entertaining. This comic's meaning is that North Korean's communist government is viewed in a negative manor. The writer gets this point across through what is said, the character's actions and the positioning of the characters in each frame. The author uses all of the elements together to help further the point.  

The words used by the character play a very large role in getting the author's point across. This comic is using the line "someone willing to forgo individual recognition and pursue the group's shared goal" as a definition for communism. The author then uses the female's response of ,"so, you're applying to become a North Korean?" as a play on words. That response is what ties North Korea with communism. It does take some previous knowledge from the reader to realize what communism is in order to recognize that connection, but that is what makes it an intelligent joke. Those comments from the characters are the most important indicators as to what the author is talking about in this comic, however they do not offer any reason as to why they are included in the comic. In order to understand what the author wants the reader to take away from this comic, one must look at how the characters react to those comments.  

The way in which the characters act help show that the communist nature of North Korea is viewed negatively. In the beginning of the comic, the male seems oblivious to anything the female is thinking. He simply answers the questions he is asked and does not think a lot about his responses until the end when the female makes the final comment. When she makes the comment, which is the punch line of the comic, he seems very uptight, almost offended. That is when the reader realizes that it is not a positive thing to be a communist North Korean. It is implied that he, the female, or anyone else does not want to be a North Korean specifically because of the fact that it is communist. This can be further understood by analyzing the different roles each character takes on. 

As previously mentioned, the male applying for the job online seems oblivious during the comic. His oblivious nature and the seemingly wise character of the female also help prove the point of how communism in North Korea is viewed. The female proves to be wise and smart by the way she comes up with the punch line of the joke. She is sarcastic, which is a form of wit, but it is implied that her joke has an element of truth in it. Also, judging from the reaction of the male character to her response, the wise, female character is not very fond of communism in North Korea. However, when she says, "so, you're applying to become a North Korean?" she knows the male will feel the same way. That is why the reader is able to imply that most people do not like communist North Korea. So, the female takes on the role of a smart and educated person while the male seems to be less educated. 

Those character roles lead into larger generalizations about the type of people that negatively view North Korea's government. The female represents smart people in general, which means that smart people do not like the communism in North Korea and that they pass that on to less smart, oblivious people such as the male character. The author used the female to represent smart people and how they educate less smart people in general on how North Korea's communism is negative. Because of how each character knows the other will feel the same as they do, the conclusion can be drawn that these characters and their specific roles, represent much larger populations and how they view communism in North Korea. 

Positioning of the characters is also important in understanding the meaning of this comic. In three of the four frames, the female is positioned in the background while the male is hunched over his lap top. This positioning also contributes to the wise part of the female's character. The female is at distance as though she can see the situation clearly while the male is hunched over so he can not see the situation or process what is happening as clearly. It also looks as though the female is in a more powerful spot than the male. She is moving around at her own will and even getting herself something to drink. Meanwhile, the male is at the mercy of his computer and has to remain sitting wherever his computer is. It is important the female is the powerful one because that shows that she not only is smart and represents smart people, but that she is powerful and represents that type of person also. So, since she is the character who makes the implied negative comment about North Korea's form of government, it is implied that smart and powerful people feel the same way she does. 

There are a few different ways to understand what the author is trying to communicate in this comic, which is that North Korea's communist government is viewed by most people negatively. With some background knowledge, the actual words said help the reader understand what the author is talking about, but they do offer further analyzation into why they are said. The reader can look at the reaction of the characters to the comments, the roles each character represents, and also how the characters are positioned in each frame to understand that most people view North Korea's communist government negatively. 

