Recently, North Korean citizens have been
able to use smartphones to download not only movies and music, but also the
state-run publication, Rodong Sinmun. Although North Korean phones cannot
access the Internet, activity on the domestic intranet, known as Kwangmyong,
has been flourishing with the increased availability of propaganda films and
news.
“Even if you have a good computer or
smartphone here in North Korea, access to the outside internet is blocked and
it is impossible to connect to it. But we do have our pathetic intranet system through
which we can share biased information provided by the authorities,” a source in
South Pyongan Province reported to Daily NK over the phone on October 5.
Signing up for domestic intranet is
required for Party cadres and other elites with their own personal computers at
home or in the office, she explained. While most citizens who have smartphones
avoid downloading files through because it is so expensive, a portion of the
population does use them to acquire movies and music.
The cost of a smartphone in North Korea
currently averages 500 USD or more, putting it out of reach for most ordinary
citizens, who instead continue to use older cell phone models. Despite this
extraordinary expense, the number of people who own smartphones is slowly
rising, which means the number of people hopping on the intranet is on the rise
as well. To keep up, the smartphones themselves are improving in quality and
function, according to the source.
People who can afford the luxury of a
smartphone take pride in showing off their wealth by consuming the media
accessible via the intranet in public places. Cell phones are billed at the
beginning or end of every month using a card that keeps track of the number of
downloads and duration of phone usage. In other words, the more a person
downloads, the more expensive the bill.
“These days, you can see more and more
young people dancing to music played from their smartphones on trains and in
parks. People walk around with headphones in watching movies or listening to
music. It has become a part of the culture,” she asserted.
“But almost no one downloads the Rodong
Sinmun because it’s so boring. High-level cadres at state-run enterprises only
download and read it because they feel an obligation to do so and these days
there are so many issues with the distribution of the physical newspaper.”
Outside of Pyongyang, the publication often fails to be delivered for 3 or 4 days at a time due to power shortages
besetting the nation’s postal services. Rather than wait around to read out of
date news, it is easier to simply download and read it online. This also helps cadres leery of the greater scrutiny coupling Rodong Sinmun subscription recently.
A source in North Pyongan Province
confirmed these developments while adding that in addition to news, the
intranet provides information regarding commodity prices, exchange rates, the
weather, airport and train schedules. In fact, smartphone users can compare
commodity prices across the provinces and track goods as they are shipped.
Market retailers and wholesalers who pay
extra to have their goods shipped by train can keep track of the train
schedules by pressing 113, cutting down on uncertainty about when to expect
deliveries, he said, noting the development as a “distinct improvement for
travelers and sellers who previously might spend the whole night waiting at the
station, fearful of missing their train.”
Additionally, the intranet homepage offers
information about popular restaurants, entertainment programs, and even
factories. Intranet users can view the location, product images, prices, and
information, and phone numbers of state-owned factories.
Although the homepage recommends different
popular restaurants, market sellers as yet cannot check the prices of goods or
the exchange rates in individual markets and must still rely on old fashioned
phone calls to obtain such information. According to the source, people are hoping that in the future they will be able to check not only factory and
restaurant information, but also the prices of goods in each market across the
nation.
*The content of this article was broadcast to the North Korean people via Unification Media Group.
