January 26, 2015 at 14:54Internet in a Closed Country: North Korea's Experience
In the modern world, where borders between countries are simply abstract concepts, the DPRK remains an unusual example of a state where Internet access is almost completely closed. This is due, first of all, to total control by the government. The Internet in North Korea serves only one purpose - to serve the needs of the authorities, and the inhabitants of the country lack virtually any information, except for propaganda from television and newspapers. Although, recently, the tendency to open the Iron Curtain is becoming more and more noticeable, and, of course, this will affect the Internet.
Now only a few North Koreans have access to the network. In 2013, the number of IP addresses accessing the Internet was only 1,200. Party leaders, some research institutes, foreign embassies, metropolitan universities, foreign economic figures, propagandists, and some others elected by Kim Jong-un himself had access to it. The vast majority uses the national network of Kwanmen, which we will talk about in more detail now.
In 2000, on the initiative of the DPRK government as a surrogate for the Internet, the national Kwanmen network was created - a vivid example of an intranet . Today it has more than 100 thousand users and 3 thousand sites, mainly in Korean. Most of the pages relate to educational institutions and manufacturing enterprises. Now the network is actively developing and, in addition to materials in Korean, sites in English and Russian began to appear.
The process of adding information to the intranet is ordered by various institutions and organizations, and then the Computer Information Center downloads information from the World Wide Web to Kwanmen, while censoring content. Only after that the site becomes available to users.
By the standards of modern man, Kwanmen is more like an electronic library, where users are limited to the limit. In Kwanmen, you can download e-books and read them on Samjiyon Chinese tablets, made specifically for the DPRK. Also on the intranet there are news resources, more dedicated to the promotion of communism, articles on science, a search engine and a bit of commerce - there is even the opportunity to run your own business. Users communicate via e-mail and special university forums, where it is possible to exchange songs and congratulations.
Most people in the country get access to Kwanmen via 3G via mobile phones. Since the DPRK is a poor country and the average salary of a worker is about $ 4, meeting a computer in a North Korean family is quite rare. All computers use Red Star OS on the Linux kernel, the new version of which is reminiscent of Mac OS X with the interface. Red Star OS has a modified version of Mozilla Firefox called Nenara, a text editor, mail system, media player and some games.
There are no social networks in the DPRK and the ability to communicate with other countries is simply absent. According to foreigners, the most popular place where usually silent North Koreans can communicate on “closed topics” and discuss power is trains. Here, as if in a large social network, a stranger can communicate with strangers on topics that he would not touch on at work or at home.
At the moment, there is no direct access from the world Internet to the DPRK intranet. There were a couple of attempts to break into Kwanmen, however, direct evidence was never provided. However, not everything is so hopeless: anyone can watch North Korean television anywhere in the world and listen to the local Voice of Korea radio . Also, foreign users have the opportunity to try the national search engine .
As regards access to the world network from the DPRK, things are even worse here. As mentioned above, only government agencies and politicians have access to the Internet. However, from March 1, 2013, foreign tourists were allowed to enter the Internet on the territory of the state via 3G communication, however, this service did not take root much, because access costs several hundred dollars. Officials, taking care of the country's image, constantly come up with various guides, including interactive ones. A striking example of this is the first video game created in North Korea, the browser race Pyongyang Racer .
Just looking at it, you can understand that the DPRK has already lagged behind other countries in terms of information technology for several decades. There is no one to compete in this game, but riding along the deserted streets of Pyongyang, you can explore all the local attractions of the capital.
Despite all the efforts of the North Korean authorities, the country, and with it the Internet, will gradually begin to open up to the outside world. Perhaps the DPRK will follow the example of China and create an analogue of the Golden Shield, and refuse to filter information, as many totalitarian states have already done. But in the meantime, local residents, in their own words, suffer greatly from a lack of information and the ability to communicate on the Internet.
Now only a few North Koreans have access to the network. In 2013, the number of IP addresses accessing the Internet was only 1,200. Party leaders, some research institutes, foreign embassies, metropolitan universities, foreign economic figures, propagandists, and some others elected by Kim Jong-un himself had access to it. The vast majority uses the national network of Kwanmen, which we will talk about in more detail now.
What is Kwanmen?
In 2000, on the initiative of the DPRK government as a surrogate for the Internet, the national Kwanmen network was created - a vivid example of an intranet . Today it has more than 100 thousand users and 3 thousand sites, mainly in Korean. Most of the pages relate to educational institutions and manufacturing enterprises. Now the network is actively developing and, in addition to materials in Korean, sites in English and Russian began to appear.
The process of adding information to the intranet is ordered by various institutions and organizations, and then the Computer Information Center downloads information from the World Wide Web to Kwanmen, while censoring content. Only after that the site becomes available to users.
By the standards of modern man, Kwanmen is more like an electronic library, where users are limited to the limit. In Kwanmen, you can download e-books and read them on Samjiyon Chinese tablets, made specifically for the DPRK. Also on the intranet there are news resources, more dedicated to the promotion of communism, articles on science, a search engine and a bit of commerce - there is even the opportunity to run your own business. Users communicate via e-mail and special university forums, where it is possible to exchange songs and congratulations.
Most people in the country get access to Kwanmen via 3G via mobile phones. Since the DPRK is a poor country and the average salary of a worker is about $ 4, meeting a computer in a North Korean family is quite rare. All computers use Red Star OS on the Linux kernel, the new version of which is reminiscent of Mac OS X with the interface. Red Star OS has a modified version of Mozilla Firefox called Nenara, a text editor, mail system, media player and some games.
There are no social networks in the DPRK and the ability to communicate with other countries is simply absent. According to foreigners, the most popular place where usually silent North Koreans can communicate on “closed topics” and discuss power is trains. Here, as if in a large social network, a stranger can communicate with strangers on topics that he would not touch on at work or at home.
How to get in and out of the North Korean intranet?
At the moment, there is no direct access from the world Internet to the DPRK intranet. There were a couple of attempts to break into Kwanmen, however, direct evidence was never provided. However, not everything is so hopeless: anyone can watch North Korean television anywhere in the world and listen to the local Voice of Korea radio . Also, foreign users have the opportunity to try the national search engine .
As regards access to the world network from the DPRK, things are even worse here. As mentioned above, only government agencies and politicians have access to the Internet. However, from March 1, 2013, foreign tourists were allowed to enter the Internet on the territory of the state via 3G communication, however, this service did not take root much, because access costs several hundred dollars. Officials, taking care of the country's image, constantly come up with various guides, including interactive ones. A striking example of this is the first video game created in North Korea, the browser race Pyongyang Racer .
Just looking at it, you can understand that the DPRK has already lagged behind other countries in terms of information technology for several decades. There is no one to compete in this game, but riding along the deserted streets of Pyongyang, you can explore all the local attractions of the capital.
What is the future of computer networks in North Korea?
Despite all the efforts of the North Korean authorities, the country, and with it the Internet, will gradually begin to open up to the outside world. Perhaps the DPRK will follow the example of China and create an analogue of the Golden Shield, and refuse to filter information, as many totalitarian states have already done. But in the meantime, local residents, in their own words, suffer greatly from a lack of information and the ability to communicate on the Internet.