Tech in North Korea: Getting online in the world’s most isolated country

Right now in North Korea, someone is tapping away on an iPhone. He or she can share photos, video chat, and – if they were so inclined – read Tech in Asia. In the same country, at the same time, there is someone whose interaction with electronics begins and ends with a radio.

Writing about North Korea from outside of the country can feel like describing a room just by peering at it through a keyhole – even if you see something, it’s impossible to get enough context for it to make any sense. When it comes to tech, the nominally Communist society is wildly unequal. Who you are – your job, your education, your location – means the difference between a 3G-connected iPhone in your pocket and having never even heard of the internet.

We talked to several North Korea experts about tech in Asia’s most isolated society, and what it means for locals, for foreigners, and for potential entrepreneurs in the country.

The upper crust

“At the highest end are imported iPhones, Samsungs, things like that,” says Chad O’Carroll, director and managing editor of NK News, a website that provides news and analysis on North Korea. “There are some who have connectivity to the internet, and would be able to do the things that you or I would do.”

“Very few people have that kind of access,” he adds. “I can’t reinforce what a small group of people that is.”

That group consists of two kinds of people: high-ranking members of the ruling party, and foreigners.

Foreigners arriving in North Korea, whether as tourists or businesspeople, can choose between two different SIM cards – one that works only for international calls and calls to other foreigners in North Korea, and one that uses the country’s domestic 3G infrastructure and has access to the internet.

“The 3G one has to be registered every time you enter [the country] to stop it from being handed to any locals,” says Simon Cockerell, general manager of Koryo Tours, a travel agency that brings tourists into the DPRK.

The 3G service provides semi-censored access to the internet. The conventional wisdom among North Korea-watchers is that the country’s internet comes in via China, which would make it subject to the same censorship that’s seen in the Mainland. But in both Chad and Simon’s experience, there have been times when the 3G connection provided unfettered access to websites like Facebook and Twitter. Simon says recently users have needed to login to a VPN to access the sites.

Foreigners are allowed to bring a pretty wide variety of tech into the country. GoPros, laptops, cameras, tablets, hard drives, and the like are all allowed in – although, Simon notes, they are often examined at entry to see if they contain any films or information about North Korea.

The list of banned devices is fairly slim: things like drones, radios, satellite phones, and GPS systems aren’t permitted. Every modern smartphone has a GPS, of course, but Simon says authorities “realized this was unenforceable.” Apparently a tourist to the DPRK once caused confusion and curiosity at customs when they attempted to bring a Google Glass into the country.

For locals, access to the higher echelons of tech – foreign smartphones, computers, etc. – is incredibly concentrated, both in terms of social status and geography. Those who have such access are invariably high-ranking members of the Communist Party and live in the capital city, Pyongyang.

“Being in Pyongyang alone means you’re already part of the elite,” Chad says. “Only certain people are allowed to live there. There is a high chance they would have a cellphone.”

The “middle” class

Off the grid

What is the grid?

Koryolink was, oddly enough, built by an Egyptian telecom company. Orascom entered the DPRK in 2008 in a joint venture with North Korean authorities. For the first few years, all seemed to be going well – Orascom built solid cellular infrastructure throughout the country. But when the company attempted to withdraw its profits, it found that North Korean authorities weren’t exactly excited to comply. And they weren’t too fond of Koryolink being a joint venture, either. As the Washington Post put it: “North Korea tells Egyptian company: Thanks for the cellphones. We’ll take the company, too.”

Learning from the outside world

Can tech help open up North Korea?