Forget about downloading apps for your Apple iPad in North Korea: You’ll have to walk to the Apps Store.
The hermit kingdom may not be as technologically hip as the rest of the world, but one thing that owners of connected mobile devices don’t have to worry about, is getting enough exercise.
North Korea has its own government-sanctioned Internet, or rather a very large Intranet, called “Kwangmyong”, which can be translated to “Light”, in which the few citizens with the means to purchase a computer, can access short of 200 websites, all of which state-monitored and run.
Mobile devices like Apple iPad, iPhone, and others that the free world takes for granted, are not allowed in North Korea, however, a number of locally manufactured tablets and smartphones have begun to spread among the populace. North Korea’s president Kim-Jong Il is known for his fondness of Apple devices, which explains the similarity of these emerging devices to Apple’s, as well as the not-so-subtle choice of name for North Korea’s first mobile tablet: “Ryonghung iPad”.
The tablet’s operating system is designed to look like Apple’s own iOS, and considering that no North Korean-made consumer electronics are expected to hit the shelves of your neighborhood’s electronics store, it’s unlikely that Apple is willing to take issue with Pyongyang’s violation of trademark laws.
As one might expect after spending any length of time in the hermit kingdom, the government’s tight grip on surveillance requires extreme measures in regard to personal electronics. Any means for the Republic’s People to connect to computer networks is scrutinized, and if deemed too far-reaching, restricted to a fault.
Personal Android devices like “Ryounghung iPad”, whose operating system would normally allow the download and installation of apps from the Internet, are blocked from doing so, also in light of the fact that access to the public Internet is forbidden to all, except to the top political elite.
With that said, oddly enough, a library of additional apps is available, only nowhere to be found online, but rather in one physical kyosk, operated by a store attendant, within the second floor of the Pothonggang Information Technology Center.
Customers who want to buy additional applications for their devices can do so by handing their phones or tablets to the attendant, who will physically load purchased applications into the device, via bluetooth, or wired connection.
The very existence of this kiosk is still very much speculation, as most who heard about it, including Facebook’s director of product management Eric Tseng, were not allowed to see it.
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