In this episode, we explore the surprising reality of gaming in North Korea—from pre-installed phone games and service-center installations to closed, intranet-based app platforms.

Despite strict controls, mobile gaming has become part of everyday life, with ranking systems, in-game rewards, and even digital payments shaping user behavior.

💡 Topics include:

• How apps are installed and downloaded without the global internet

• North Korea’s internal app ecosystem

• Digital payments and in-app purchases

• Popular and adapted games

🎧 Based on research including:

• Ji Sun Yee, Cultural Convergence in North Korean Gaming: Industry, Content, and User Experience (Korea Institute for National Unification, 2022)

• NK Economy reports on North Korea’s IT and gaming sector

❤️ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/p3Clk707Xt0

📱 Follow us on social media: https://linktr.ee/gwiks.elliott.gwu

🔑 Supported by the UniKorea Foundation: https://www.unikoreafoundation.org/

🇰🇷 Check out GW Institute for Korean Studies: https://gwiks.elliott.gwu.edu/

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In this episode, Grace and Professor Kim dive into the fascinating world of "Phone Money." From "Money Masters" (Donju) running informal wire transfers to parents sending digital talk time to feed their sons in the military, discover how North Koreans turned simple SIM cards into a sophisticated financial network.

❤️ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/IL3nvHE_m-s

📱 Follow us on social media: https://linktr.ee/gwiks.elliott.gwu

🔑 Supported by the UniKorea Foundation: https://www.unikoreafoundation.org/

🇰🇷 Check out GW Institute for Korean Studies: https://gwiks.elliott.gwu.edu/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The fourth episode of Digital Divide examines the rise of servi-cha, North Korea’s semi-private transport vehicles. The spread of cell phones, combined with a nationwide road-based network, has sparked a logistics revolution—enabling real-time coordination among drivers, merchants, brokers, fuel traders, and even checkpoint officials.

❤️ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/aQnkVF6l6Nc

📱 Follow us on social media: https://linktr.ee/gwiks.elliott.gwu

🔑 Check out UniKorea Foundation: https://www.unikoreafoundation.org/unikoreafoundation/

🇰🇷 Check out GW Institute for Korean Studies: https://gwiks.elliott.gwu.edu/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The third episode of Digital Divide focuses on North Korea’s informal marketplaces, known as Jangmadang, and how they function as the backbone of everyday survival and commerce. Drawing on interviews with North Korean defectors, the episode shows how these markets emerged after the collapse of the public distribution system in the 1990s and now operate as a gray zone economy tolerated by the state. Grace and Prof. Kim will highlight the central role of cell phones in enabling trade, information sharing, smuggling, and logistics, as well as how corruption and COVID-19 have shaped daily life and business in one of the world’s most isolated countries.

❤️ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qvDW_ey2uvM

📱 Follow us on social media: https://linktr.ee/gwiks.elliott.gwu

🔑 Check out UniKorea Foundation: https://www.unikoreafoundation.org/unikoreafoundation/

🇰🇷 Check out GW Institute for Korean Studies: https://gwiks.elliott.gwu.edu/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The second episode of Digital Divide focuses on how mobile phones in North Korea provide personal connectivity while reinforcing strict state control. Although their introduction sparked excitement and sacrifice among citizens, phone usage is tightly monitored—with no chat rooms, heavy surveillance, and widespread self-censorship.

So why does the regime even allow cell phones?

❤️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhM_IyUMR-i3fnlT1lOX1bYl937yiiVyr

📱 Follow us on social media: https://linktr.ee/gwiks.elliott.gwu

🔑 Check out UniKorea Foundation: https://www.unikoreafoundation.org/unikoreafoundation/

🇰🇷 Check out GW Institute for Korean Studies: https://gwiks.elliott.gwu.edu/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The debut episode of Digital Divide explores North Korea’s evolving mobile ecosystem—from domestically made smartphones and new foldable models to strict controls over ownership, monitoring, and access to foreign media. The hosts highlight how phones have become central to daily life, with people engrossed in games and state-approved streaming despite constant surveillance. They also touch on smuggling networks, black-market devices, and efforts to block foreign signals.

Could North Korea eventually adapt to South Korea’s advanced digital landscape?

❤️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@gwiks/featured

📱 Follow us on social media: https://linktr.ee/gwiks.elliott.gwu

🔑 Check out UniKorea Foundation: https://www.unikoreafoundation.org/unikoreafoundation/

🇰🇷 Check out GW Institute for Korean Studies: https://gwiks.elliott.gwu.edu/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.