By 
This picture of an incredibly tall soldier at Kim Jong-il’s funeral is something that has been going around the Internet. The consensus is that the soldier is likely the 7′ 9 former NBA hopeful Ri Myung Hun / Michael Ri.
Hat tip to the Marmot’s Hole.
5:07 pm on December 30th, 2011 1
The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
Didn’t (couldn’t) make the NBA draft, but there’s one draft he didn’t miss.
Can’t even stand in formation with his fellow anti-imperialist comrades of the peoples army.
/sad
6:20 pm on December 30th, 2011 2
Just on size alone (and the fact that the height apparently wasn’t caused by giganticism or other defect) means some NBA team would have signed him, but the US trade embargo prevented it, along with preventing him from signing with any of the major European leagues with similar sanctions. Possible he could have been Yao Ming-ish, but who knows. No doubt in my mind his whole family was being held the entire time he was training abroad to make sure he didn’t defect and play.
6:27 pm on December 30th, 2011 3
2. The US finally said he could play but he could not send his money to north Korea… So, the norK’s responded by refusing to let Ri leave.
His quote, “I’m a big man. I want to test my ability. I am not interested in money or politics. As a sportsman, I just want to try.”
6:30 pm on December 30th, 2011 4
The really interesting thing about the picture is…
…if he is not quite 8 foot tall, what is everybody else? Four? Four and a half? Maybe 5?
I am only looking at this on my phone… but, at first glance, the proportions are not adding up.
7:40 pm on December 30th, 2011 5
@4 I think it’s a trick of the eye combined with his height. I put it into paint and drew a headline across the back row and the rest of the soldiers are coming up to his lower chest, which is about right for a 5’6″ average compared to 7’9″
9:01 pm on December 30th, 2011 6
Right on. I was going to do that tonight.
As his height is well-known, it gives a good chance to guess the height of some Korean soldiers.
12:01 pm on December 31st, 2011 7
Words never heard at a nork military parade, “If you are taller than the man in front of you, move forward.”
12:49 pm on December 31st, 2011 8
Reminds me of Giant Doctor from Scrubs.
12:51 pm on December 31st, 2011 9