There's a lot we don't know about North Korea because of its isolation, but some semblance Internet she still has it. About how the Internet works in North Korea, who uses it and what North Korean sites look like.
Is there normal internet in North Korea?
Yes. There are one or two Internet providers in North Korea, which means you can physically access the Internet. But its use is extremely limited. Only a few have access:
- Foreign embassies and representative offices (since 2005)
- Higher political elite
- Some government agencies (most often intelligence services)
- Part of the scientific and technical intelligentsia who are engaged in important research. Especially foreign scientists invited by the country
- People who need this e-mail by occupation
There is one important caveat to this last point. No matter how absurd it may be, such people can only check their mail under close supervision. They enter a guarded room, where there is a state security guard. A person signs up, signs and goes to read his mail while he is being watched.*
Perhaps you were not so surprised by this, knowing the traditions North Korea. That is why there is no particular outrage on the topic of the Internet. Nevertheless, there have been attempts to make the Internet at least somehow accessible to ordinary Koreans. The most famous of them is when foreign embassies specifically installed powerful routers to allow people located at a distance from the embassy to use the Internet. To prevent such things from unfriendly representatives, we decided to prohibit entry via Wi-Fi.
If you are not on the list of exceptional cases for the state, this does not mean that the network is closed to you. Although the World Wide Web is prohibited, in North Korea has its own Internet - Gwangmyeon.
What is Gwangmyeon? Internet in North Korea
Gwangmyeon is a network that exists exclusively in North Korea and is fully regulated by its authorities. Now there are approximately 5 thousand sites. And such a relatively small number is not surprising, since in order to publish an article there, you will have to get permission. The offer is usually considered educational institutions or important people, so you will be able to create your own blog only if it is about Kim Jong-un, and not about cats.
And although there is enough propaganda information in Gwangmen, it has some advantage over the World Wide Web - other sites are published by serious scientists, most often verified and scientific. If you don’t pay attention to propaganda, it would turn out quite like this digital library with long posts on popular scientific topics.
Gwangmyeon Facts about Gwangmyeon
- The number of users is estimated at 100 thousand people.*
- In Gwangmyeon, most of the sites are, of course, in Korean, but there are also sites in Russian and English
- On every page of every official North Korean website there is a strange option: every time the name Kim Jong Un is mentioned, the font size of his name increases. Not too much, but enough to stand out.*
- There is even one Internet cafe in North Korea.
- Mobile Internet does not work.
It was possible to find out that the Internet of North Korea is represented by only 28 sites.
This became possible thanks to an error on North Korean servers, thanks to which on Monday anyone could access North Korean sites with the top-level domain .kp.
The DPRK Internet is hidden from the rest of the world and tightly controlled by local authorities. Now sites are available to users from any country, but they load very slowly. At the time of publication, access to only a portion of the sites was maintained.
The list of North Korean sites was published on the Internet for the first time:
- airkoryo.com.kp
- cooks.org.kp
- friend.com.kp
- gnu.rep.kp
- kass.org.kp
- kcna.kp
- kiyctc.com.kp
- knic.com.kp
- koredufund.org.kp
- korelcfund.org.kp
- korfilm.com.kp
- ma.gov.kp
- masikryong.com.kp
- naenara.com.kp
- nta.gov.kp
- portal.net.kp
- rcc.net.kp
- rep.kp
- rodong.rep.kp
- ryongnamsan.edu.kp
- sdprk.org.kp
- silibank.net.kp
- star-co.net.kp
- star-di.net.kp
- star.co.kp
- star.edu.kp
- star.net.kp
- vok.rep.kp
Reddit users analyzed the themes and purpose of some North Korean sites:
airkoryo.com.kp
This is the website of the DPRK state airline Air Koryo, which also has a representative office in Moscow.
From Russian cities, Air Koryo flies only to Vladivostok. All ticket prices are the same regardless of date: economy class - $414, business class - $480.
gnu.rep.kp
The website of the national radio station is called “Grand National Unity” (GNU)
News is published there along with audio recordings, which are broadcast on radio stations with the expectation of propaganda in nearby countries.
cooks.org.kp
The site publishes recipes and information about the cuisine and restaurants of the DPRK
It is alleged that national North Korean dishes are well known throughout the world due to their recognizable taste and strong smell.
ryongnamsan.edu.kp
The website of Kim Il Sung University, the largest university in the DPRK, located in Pyongyang, has not only a website in Korean, but also an English version
The university was founded on October 1, 1946, under the orders of Kim Il Sung. On the site in addition to general information about the university there is a section about international exchanges. Although it is impossible to find data on how many university students go to study abroad, the section contains several materials on cooperation between the DPRK and Russia.
Websites of the North Korean segment of the Internet became accessible abroad using their domain addresses at the beginning of 2011: before that they could only be accessed using specific IP addresses. However, they still use low-power hosting, which makes it difficult for people outside the DPRK to access the sites.
According to researcher nknetobserver, there are a total of 1,024 IP addresses on the North Korean segment of the Internet. In 2012, he managed to detect a user accessing this network from a 2008 MacBook Air (the second version of Apple's budget laptop).
In 2015, the opening of a new website about scientific achievements, available only to North Korean citizens, became a national event. The internal network, called Kwangmen, runs on illegal software from Microsoft and has no access to the external segment of the Internet.
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Image caption Internet access in North Korea is limited to a limited number of people.
What is it like to use the Internet in the most closed country in the world? By the standards of world practice, the experience of North Korean Internet users can be called at least strange, and in many cases life-threatening.
But as North Koreans overcome obstacles and begin to use the World Wide Web, the country's history may begin to change radically.
How does it work? On every page of any official North Korean website there is a strange option - a program that must be included in the code of each page.
Its function is simple: every time Kim Jong-un's name is mentioned, the font size of his name increases. Not too much, but enough to stand out.
The Internet in North Korea serves only one purpose, and there is nothing like it in any other country in the world. In a state where citizens lack any information except government propaganda, the Internet serves exclusively the needs of the authorities.
True, everything more people believe that total control is beginning to weaken. "The government can no longer monitor all communications in the country as it once could," explains Scott Thomas Bruce, an expert on North Korea. “This is a very significant change,” he believes.
"Year 101"
There is only one internet cafe in Pyongyang. Users quickly discover that the computer is not running on the operating system Windows system, and on "Red Star" - an operating system developed by North Korean specialists.
Image caption The name of leader Kim Jong-un is always visibleAccording to some reports, this was done at the personal request of Kim Jong Il.
The first file that loads says that operating system consistent with the country's values, and that this is extremely important.
In the computer calendar, the year is not 2012, but 101. 101 years ago, Kim Il Sung was born, the grandfather of Kim Jong Un, whose ideas still shape the country's politics.
Ordinary citizens do not have access to the Internet. Only a select few enjoy this right: the political elite and some scientists. But even for them, the Internet is so limited that it more closely resembles an internal corporate network rather than a global network, as in the rest of the world.
“They have installed a system that they can monitor and turn off if necessary,” explains expert Bruce.
Image caption North Korea has its own Red Star operating system.This system is called "Gwangmyeon" and is operated by the only Internet provider in the country. According to Bruce, the North Korean Internet mainly consists of "classification sites, government media and sites with chat functions." It is not surprising that there is no hint of Twitter there.
“Many authoritarian regimes are looking at what is happening in the Middle East. They are thinking: what if they don’t allow Facebook and Twitter, but create a Facebook that the government can control?” the expert asks. “Red Star” works with an adapted version of the browser, which is called "Naenara", which is also the name of the official portal of North Korea, which also has an English version."
Common sites on the North Korean Internet are news portals such as the Voice of Korea and the official government portal Rodong Sinmun.
But anyone who creates content for this “network” must be extremely careful.
"Balloons"
As Chris Green, writing for Daily NK, points out, one of the new ways to send information to North Korea is through the use of USB devices that are tethered to balloons and sent across the border.
The devices usually record South Korean TV series or Korean versions of pages from the Internet encyclopedia Wikipedia.
And although most North Koreans do not have access to the Internet, this is how they can receive information from the outside world.
The Daily NK website is based in South Korea and publishes the stories of North Koreans - those who fled and those who live in their country.
According to the site's authors, "from time to time we are told stories that would make James Bond proud. Mobile phones are hidden in bags and buried in the mountains on the outskirts of towns in order to make just one call, which cannot last more than two minutes, otherwise the security services will intercept it." .
The organization Reporters Without Borders, which monitors the situation with press freedom around the world, notes that some North Korean journalists could end up in “revolutionary” camps for a simple typo.
However, some North Koreans have unlimited access to the Internet. It is assumed that members of only a few families directly related to Kim Jong-un himself possess it.
"Mosquito net"
North Korean authorities' reluctance to allow citizens to access the Internet belies their understanding that the country will eventually have to gradually open up to survive.
And while China has the famous "Great Internet Wall" that blocks sites like Twitter and the occasional BBC, North Korea's technological infrastructure is often described as a "mosquito net" that allows only the most basic things to be used.
The most difficult thing to track is mobile technology. Although North Korea has an official mobile phone network that does not allow Internet access or international calls, North Koreans are increasingly acquiring Chinese cell phones smuggled into the country.
Phones usually work within a 10 km zone from the border with China - however, having such a phone is dangerous.
“The lengths people are willing to go to today would have been unimaginable 20 years ago,” says Nat Kretchan, author of a study on the changing information environment in North Korea.
His report, "A Quiet Discovery," is an analysis of 420 interviews the researcher conducted with people who fled the country. Their stories provide insight into the lengths people will go to get their hands on mobile phones.
Image caption North Korea has 3G technology, but no mobile Internet“To make sure my phone wasn’t being tapped, when I made calls, I turned on the water in the bathroom and put a steamer lid on my head,” said one 28-year-old man who fled the country in November 2010. “I don’t know if that helped.” , but I was never caught."
And if the “scientificness” of this approach raises serious doubts, this person’s fear is quite understandable. "It's a serious crime to have a phone like that," Bruce explains. "The government has equipment to track down people who use such devices. If you use such a phone, it must be done in a densely populated area and very quickly," the expert explains.
Honest information
Hundreds of tanks took part in parades during the time of Kim Jong Il, demonstrating the “military genius” of the leader.
Many observers note that his son Kim Jong-un is well versed in modern technologies and tries to put them at the service of the inhabitants of the country.
Every new step in this direction gives the Koreans something they never had before - honest information that could have a devastating effect on such a closed society.
"I don't think it's going to open the door to an Arab Spring any time soon," says Bruce, "but I do think people now expect access to technology. And that creates expectations that can't be easily dashed."
mobile connection In Korea
South Korea has a different mobile communication standard than Russia and Europe - in Korea the CDMA and IMT2000 standards are used, while we are accustomed to the GSM standard. However, you may not notice this difference if you have mobile phone, supporting 3G communication (and this is almost all modern devices). The connection will work if roaming is enabled. Those who want to save on tariffs for international calls can purchase a SIM card from a local operator (KT, Olleh, SK Telecom or LG Telecom). This can only be done on the third day of your stay in Korea (you need a passport with a stamp with the date of arrival in Korea). The cheapest tariff costs approximately ₩5,000 per month of calls + ₩10,000 per SIM card. Behind Mobile Internet need to pay separately.
If your mobile phone does not support 3G, then, sadly, it will not work in Korea. However, this is not as scary as it might seem. There is a service that offers to rent a mobile phone (usually an iPhone) that works on the Korean network. You can purchase a mobile phone for rent right at the airport - this map shows the places where the corresponding services are provided. Estimated price ₩3000-4000 per day. You will need to leave your phone as collateral.
In addition, you can call home from a landline phone or from a pay phone located on the street. You can pay for a call at a machine using special telephone cards (sold in stores and hotels) or coins. The procedure for dialing a Russian phone number for a call from Korea: 001 (002 or 008) - 7 - area code - subscriber's phone number.
Phone numbers that may be useful in Korea:
- Police - 112
- Fire service - 119
- Ambulance health care — 119
- Ambulance for foreigners - (02) 790–7561
- Tourist information - 1330
Calls can also be made using popular Internet applications: Skype, WhatsApp, Telegram, Weibo or their Korean equivalent - Kakao talk. To do this, you will need to connect to a high-speed Internet source.
If you need Internet access constantly, you can rent a wi-fi router. Just like a mobile phone, you can rent it directly from or at the branches of local telecom operators. Estimated price ₩3500-8000 for each day of using the router. You will need to leave ₩200,000 as a deposit. A card to pay for the router can be purchased at small chain stores (CU, Mini Stop, 7-eleven, GS25, etc.) or at the appropriate branch of the local telecom operator.
You can also connect paid wi-fi on your phone, which will cost approximately ₩1000 for each hour of Internet use or ₩2000 per day. To do this, you will need to connect to the appropriate network on your phone and buy wi-fi access on the Internet page that opens.
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North Korea is a mythical country. In the sense that due to the lack of information about it, myths are created, many of which, however, have very real grounds.
We are in website decided to find out what things are unavailable or limited in the most closed country in the world, and many of them, I must admit, really surprised us.
1. You can't wear blue jeans
If you can afford jeans, then no one will stop you from wearing them. But denim can only be black, because blue jeans are not allowed here- it is believed that these pants, popular all over the world, personify the entire world of imperialism. However, tourists may well wear sky-colored jeans, but to visit the monument to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, they will still have to change clothes.
2. There is no way to access the Internet and use Wi-Fi
North Korea has computers and the Internet. More precisely, the intranet is the internal computer network “Gwangmyeon”, in which, according to various estimates, from 1,000 to 5,500 sites are recorded. Naturally, there is no question of accessing websites of other countries unless you are a high-ranking official. By the way, the local operating system "Red Star" in latest version reminiscent of MacOS X. They say this was done to please Kim Jong-un, who has a love for Apple products.
But Wi-Fi does not exist in North Korea. And ordinary residents of the country do not have mobile devices equipped with access even to Gwangmyeon. In addition, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules are removed from Chinese tablets adapted for the DPRK - simply as unnecessary.
3. Local currency is not available to foreigners
Tourists coming to North Korea are not allowed to use the national currency, the North Korean won. In local shops intended for foreigners, are calculated exclusively in euros, yuan, South Korean won and, oddly enough, dollars. But it is impossible to buy something in a store where Koreans themselves shop - moreover, foreigners are not even allowed to cross their threshold.
4. You can’t buy real estate in the DPRK
Apartments in North Korea are not for sale (according to at least officially), they are distributed by the state. And it is almost impossible to move from the village to Pyongyang - only a select few are awarded such a privilege, and only for special merits. However, on the black market, which seems to have taken over all spheres of life in this country today, you can still buy an apartment for $70–90 thousand. But the official salary of an ordinary Korean, as refugees say, is no more than $4. Per month .
5. Buying a car is almost impossible
The owner of his own car is, by North Korean standards, very rich or very influential person. The cost of a four-wheeled vehicle, which is still a luxury here, is an exorbitant amount for Koreans - according to this site, it is approximately $40 thousand. Even a bicycle is not available to everyone and is not found very often, especially if we are not talking about Pyongyang. And so much so that each of them has its own number, like a car.
6. You can’t borrow a newspaper from the library that was published several years ago.
It is impossible to find a newspaper in the library that was published several years ago. The fact is that the course of the Workers' Party of Korea may undergo changes, which the Korean people do not necessarily need to know about. For obvious reasons, it’s not even worth talking about foreign periodicals, especially glossy magazines. But you don’t need to buy daily newspapers - you can read them at special stands on the street or in the subway.
7. There is no opportunity to buy religious literature
North Korea is a 100% secular country. No, religion is not prohibited here, at least at the legislative level. Moreover, in Pyongyang there is even Christian churches, however, these are a kind of Potemkin villages, which, among other things, are under the watchful supervision of the state.
On the other side, Christianity, for example, is considered a competitor to the Juche “religion”, and therefore, to put it mildly, is not welcome. There are also Buddhist temples in the country, but they are considered mainly as historical and cultural monuments.
8. You can’t call abroad using a local SIM card
Cell phones are no longer a rarity in North Korea. However, despite the availability of mobile communications, an ordinary Korean will not be able to call another country or even a foreigner located in the DPRK. All local SIM cards are intended exclusively for calls within the country. You never know.
9. You won’t be able to take a hot shower at home.
There is no hot water supply in the houses and apartments of North Koreans - to wash themselves, they usually visit bathhouses, of which there are quite a few in the country. In addition, you won’t be able to warm your hands on a central heating radiator either - they simply don’t exist here. Wood-burning stoves are used for heating. Even in Pyongyang.
Some might argue that there is no central heating in other Asian countries. However, they use modern electric heaters, and in the DPRK, as is known, electricity is supplied intermittently even in the capital.
10. You can’t buy Coca-Cola in stores.
Until 2015, there were only 2 countries in the world where there was an official ban on the sale of this popular soda: Cuba and North Korea. After the drink was allowed to be sold on Liberty Island, Northern part The Korean Peninsula has become the only place in a world where it is not on store shelves solely for ideological reasons.
11. It is impossible to travel to another country.
Residents of North Korea cannot buy a plane ticket and go on vacation to another country. And not only because it is an expensive pleasure, but also because it is simply prohibited.
However, a ban is also imposed on free movement within the country - to visit relatives in another village or city, you need to obtain permission. Sometimes Koreans, however, go abroad - to China or Russia, but only to earn money.
12. There is no McDonald's in North Korea
There are no traditional restaurants in North Korea fast food- for obvious reasons. However, in Lately on the streets of Pyongyang you can find street food stalls selling traditional Korean food, including the world-famous kimchi. They say it is very tasty and incredibly spicy.
It's hard to believe, but many North Koreans don't even know about the existence of condoms. Several decades ago they appeared on the black market, but for this reason they were not popular, and now it is almost impossible to buy them within the country due to lack of demand.
In addition, such an intimate thing as ordinary tampons, which can be bought all over the world without any problems, cannot be found in Korean stores - at least those intended for local residents. No matter how surprising it may sound in our time, women here are forced to use ordinary fabric - and it is not even disposable.
15. It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to get a creative haircut in the DPRK.
This is not entirely untrue, but still an exaggeration. Yes, local hairdressers have photographs of women's and men's haircuts, but they are still of a recommendatory nature. On the other hand, fashion is largely determined by the leader of the country, so many men wear exactly the same haircut as Kim Jong-un. Among women, the chin-length bob became a “hit,” thanks to the same Kim Jong-un, who said that such a haircut suits Korean ladies very well.
Bonus: Radio North Korea
North Korea has several television and radio channels broadcasting programs, movies, theater productions and more. True, all of them are politicized to one degree or another, connected with the situation in the country and abroad, and glorify all three Kims. You can verify this by listening Russian-language radio “Voice of Korea”- directly from this link.
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