Otto Warmbier's Death

Overview

Otto Warmbier was a college student from Cincinnati, Ohio, who was imprisoned and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in North Korea after confessing to stealing a political propaganda poster while visiting the country. In late June 2017, Warmier died one week after being returned to the United States in a coma after suffering from severe brain damage.

Background

In 2015, Warmbier was traveling in China when he saw advertisements by Young Pioneer Tours to travel to North Korea. He then joined a five-day New Year’s tour of the country, during which he allegedly stole a propaganda sign from the Yanggakdo International Hotel in Pyongyang. On January 2nd, 2016, Warmbier was arrested for theft immediately before catching his flight at the Pyongyang International Airport. He was subsequently tried and convicted after confessing.

Initial Coverage

Following his arrest, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore aired a segment mocking Warmbier’s name, referring to him as a “frat bro” and saying “it’s just tough for me to have much sympathy for this guy” (shown below). On March 2nd, Salon^[5] published an article titled “This Might Be America’s Biggest Idiot Frat Boy.” On March 16th, the BBC^[4] reported that Warmbier had been sentenced to 15 years hard labor, leading Human Rights Watch to call the sentencing “outrageous and shocking.” On March 23rd, Huffpost^[1] published an article titled “North Korea Proves Your White Male Privilege Is Not Universal.”

Death

Following the trial, Warmbier sustained severe brain damage for unknown causes. On June 12th, 2017, United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced that Warmier had been released by North Korea. The following day, The Washington Post published an interview with Warmbier’s parents, who revealed their son had been kept comatose in North Korea for more than a year and that North Korean officials claimed he had contracted botulism and fell into a coma after taking a sleeping pill. On June 19th, Warmbier died while in a hospital after being diagnosed with extensive brain damage.

Developments

Online Reaction

On June 19th, the official Twitter account for Affinity Magazine posted a tweet commenting on Warmbier’s death, saying “watch whiteness work” and defending North Korea’s laws (shown below).^[6] The tweet was subsequently deleted.

Meanwhile, Redditor Johnnycockseed submitted a screenshot of the “North Korea Proves Your White Male Privilege Is Not Universal” to /r/KotakuInAction,^[2] where it gained over 6,900 points (81% upvoted) and 740 comments that day. That day, the news site Commentary^[3] published an article condemning those who defended North Korea’s actions based on Warmbier’s “white privilege”. Also on June 19th, a thread about Warmbier’s death reached the frontpage of /r/news,^[7] where it accumulated more than 62,000 points (87% upvoted) and 12,200 comments within 24 hours.

Search Interest

External References