A South Korean politician has urged the country’s President to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 to grasp the potential devastation of a North Korean invasion.
In a report from Korean outlet The Herald Business, politician Han Dong-hoon urged President Lee Jae-myung to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 to grasp how catastrophic things could be if the country was ill-equipped to defend against a North Korean invasion. He noted that the country should be actively preparing for any kind of situation, rather than simply hoping it never happens. He also pushed back against critiques of the game depicting an active all-out war between the two countries, believing that it should be a wake-up call to assess whether or not they’re prepared for something like that to happen.
“I hope the image of a Seoul reduced to ashes in the game remains in the realm of fiction,” he said.
In Modern Warfare 4, the game opens with a group of South Korean soldiers patrolling the city streets before an EMP takes out all power in the area. The North Korean army then attacks the city with a barrage of missiles before air-dropping soldiers and launching offensive measures through a series of tunnels. It’s pure chaos, not unlike the surprise Russian invasion of America in the original Modern Warfare 2 from 2009.
Half of Modern Warfare 4’s story focuses on South Korean forces trying to push the North Korean opposition back, despite being hopelessly outmatched and overpowered, partially thanks to a groundbreaking new technology that can wipe out defenses in the blink of an eye. The story also feels oddly timed, as reports last week claimed that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had fallen into a coma or even outright died.
These reports have been denied and countered, but the comparison to the game came as Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, made threats against South Korea. In Modern Warfare 4, there’s a familial power struggle within North Korean leadership, which ends with the Supreme Leader’s sister taking command and unleashing war on South Korea. Given the timing of the real-life situation and the release of Modern Warfare 4 last week, it was hard for fans not to see eerie similarities between reality and the game’s fictional story.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 also has an entire mode set in the DMZ, a real-world location that sits on the border of North and South Korea. In the game, the player explores this environment to complete missions, extract loot, and learn additional lore about the game’s story. IGN gave Modern Warfare 4 a 7/10, noting that the game’s multiplayer feels a bit too familiar, but the campaign elevates the larger package: “Multiplayer may not quite hit the mark, but a great campaign ensures Modern Warfare 4’s place as one of Call of Duty’s better recent entries,” reads an excerpt from our review.
Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN’s news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.