North Korea’s popular navigation app “My Traveling Companion” recently updated its map data and added a variety of new features, including a taxi call service and location sharing.
On Apr. 18, Daily NK obtained information about the update for My Traveling Companion 3.5 from a reporting partner inside North Korea.
According to the information, My Traveling Companion 3.5 lets users of smartphones and tablet computers peruse maps of the entirety of North Korea and obtain information on transportation, districts and neighborhood watch units, and commercial facilities.
To install My Traveling Companion 3.5, people must copy an attached file to a designated folder after installing the Android Package Kit, or APK, on a smartphone or tablet computer. The attached file acts as a kind of verification file.
North Korea distributes its own verification files and APKs to stop people from illegally copying or arbitrarily installing apps. To install any app, users must purchase the verification file from the app store and download the APK separately. When people place the verification file in the folder where the app is installed, the installation is complete. My Traveling Companion 3.5 is sold and distributed the very same way.
My Traveling Companion 3.5 added or corrected information about many places in Pyongyang, including Kyongru-dong, and updated information related to bus routes.
Kyongru-dong is the administrative name for a terraced housing complex along the Potong River. The complex is considered one of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s crowning achievements, with some even calling it “North Korea’s UN Village,” a reference to one of Seoul’s poshest residential complexes. The neighborhood is located on the site of one of late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung’s homes. Its construction was completed on Apr. 13 of last year, just before the Apr. 15 holiday marking Kim Il Sung’s birthday. In short, My Traveling Companion 3.5 provides updates regarding newly constructed areas and bus routes.
The app also uses a new fixed-term verification method, which allows users to peruse all nationwide maps while the app is running.
In fact, the words “use period” appear in the app; this informs users how long they can use the app. The feature appears to be similar to a membership verification system that provides management over app users. This feature also appears in other North Korean apps like “Bidulgi” and “Chammae.”
UPDATED APP FEATURES A TAXI CALL SERVICE
My Traveling Companion 3.5 also features a taxi call service. However, Daily NK was unable to confirm whether users can use it to call taxis in real time like South Korean apps such as Kakao T or Tmap.
Nonentheless, from a technology standpoint, My Traveling Companion 3.5 appears able to provide real-time taxi call service. Because taxi call services collect a user’s current location information with a view to find the closest taxi, similar apps usually share location data through the user’s and taxi’s GPS signals.
My Traveling Companion 3.5 has an icon related to the collection of location data. This section of the app displays functions that require the user’s location data, including “automatically select when you want to move,” “sharing location between users,” “search surroundings” and “display virtual data.” Technically speaking, this means it can detect the smartphone user’s location data.
A mobile telecommunications environment is required for a user to send a request to a taxi driver. Because mobile telecommunication is possible in North Korea, users can presumably call taxis in real time with My Traveling Companion 3.5’s location data sharing function.
My Traveling Companion 3.5 also features a voice command function, enabling users to set locations, districts and neighborhood watch units, and nearby searches through voice commands. This function allows users to safely reach their destinations even while driving. The addition of this feature suggests that North Korea has made significant advancements in the field of voice recognition.
Daily NK reported in August that My Traveling Companion 4.0 had been released and was hugely popular with drivers. However, Daily NK was unable to confirm updates made in version 4.0 through the information that it recently obtained.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of reporting partners who live inside North Korea and China. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
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