“Ask a North Korean” is an NK News series featuring interviews with and columns by North Korean defectors, most of whom left the DPRK within the last few years.

Readers may submit their questions for defectors by emailing [email protected] and including their first name and city of residence.

Today’s question is about how North Koreans learn to use computers.

Joshua Kim (a pseudonym) — who was born and raised in North Korea and lived there until he defected in 2019 — writes about the lack of access to computers in schools, buying and registering his first computer and how he skirted state controls to play banned games.

Got a question for Joshua? Email it to [email protected] with your name and city. We’ll be publishing the best ones.

The number of computer users in North Korea has increased in recent years. In part, this appears to be due to Kim Jong Un’s emphasis on science and technology, but technological progress has also just generally driven down the costs of computers, making it easier for North Koreans to acquire them.

However, there is a large economic gap between Pyongyang and provinces, cities and rural areas, and this is also evident in the education sector: While urban schools have textbooks and teaching aids, others often lack these resources entirely. In particular, expensive educational equipment, such as computers, are very difficult for schools to procure without government support. 

The party demands that schools provide computers for the purpose of education, so local schools will use various methods to raise funds from students. One example of this is asking students to gather herbs after class that the school can then sell to make money to buy such technology.

The problem is that schools manage the computers purchased using those funds, only allowing certain students to use them. I don’t remember ever getting proper computer training even though computer science was a subject at my school.

While North Korean hacking has become a big topic in recent years, I never heard of specific education related to this when I was in the country. But I remember that there were people who said DPRK cyber capabilities were among the most advanced in the world.

After I finished high school, I bought a computer for personal home use. I used it to play games that didn’t require an internet connection and to consume media. I would often use my computer to watch videos from USB flash drives or SD cards. 

Purchasing a computer in the DPRK is not straightforward. After buying one at an electronics store, North Koreans must register it with the government and have it inspected by the Ministry of State Security. I also had to do this for my own computer.

Since the vast majority of North Koreans have no access to the internet, the only way to download programs is by going to a regional information technology center. These IT facilities install mandatory security programs that automatically block all programs that the DPRK does not allow. Once they have done this, they will download various games and features at the user’s request, and these can only be used offline. 

However, some users secretly purchase computers without following these procedures, then go to unofficial experts to have them download the features they need. This allows them to use their computers outside the control of security officials, but the state can also confiscate unregistered computers and punish those found with them if they are discovered. 

Owners of unregistered computers thus must take special care not to be caught, but they take this risk because the registration process is very inconvenient and requires regular inspections even after registration.

A close friend of mine bypassed the registration procedures for a laptop, so we sometimes used this computer to play video games together. These included games restricted in the DPRK, like FIFA soccer and professional wrestling. Most of the titles banned in North Korea are from the U.S. or Japan, but young people are adept at finding ways to play such games.

WORLD WIDE WEB

When I still lived in North Korea, I knew that the internet existed but didn’t really know what it was for or how it was used. 

I was thus amazed when I came to South Korea and used the internet for the first time. There was so much information at my fingertips, and I could search for answers about anything I didn’t know. 

One other notable difference between North and South Korean computers is that the keyboard character arrangement is dramatically different. This meant that I had to learn the new layout when I came to Seoul, and this proved more difficult than expected, requiring that I actively think about what I was doing in order to unlearn years of unconscious habits ingrained through repetition.

There are some people that use tablet computers in North Korea, but I never owned one. The first time I saw a tablet was in 2012. It looked like a notebook, and I remember being amazed that you could not only take notes but watch videos and type. Tablets available on the market have improved since then, but again their use is limited since they cannot connect to the internet. 

While North Korea has banned access to the internet, it allows computer users to use a sort of intranet that the state says was developed independently. By putting a SIM card in a table, North Koreans can use them like mobile phones and download books, videos and music via the intranet, but not many people make use of this function as the fees are too high. 

Nowadays I’m quite comfortable using laptops and tablets, but I’m not great with all of the different functions because I haven’t been using them for that long yet. 

In the past, former leader Kim Jong Il visited Kim Il Sung University and said “place your feet on your own land and use your eyes to look at the world.” But the state’s bans on using the internet and traveling mean that North Koreans have their eyes and ears blocked.

I hope for the day where North Koreans can use the internet so that their eyes and ears can be opened to the world. I’m sure that many things will change in the DPRK once North Koreans can enjoy advanced technology and access to the internet.

Edited by Bryan Betts