A smuggled North Korean smartphone reveals how Kim Jong Un’s regime automatically replaces “South Korea” with “puppet state” and takes screenshots every five minutes to maintain total surveillance of its citizens, threatening execution for exposure to foreign culture.
Key Takeaways
- North Korean smartphones feature built-in surveillance software that captures screenshots every five minutes, storing them in hidden folders accessible only to government monitors.
- The phone’s software automatically replaces terms like “South Korea” with “puppet state” and mandates “comrade” instead of the South Korean slang “oppa,” enforcing ideological compliance.
- North Korea criminalized the use of South Korean expressions or dialects in 2023, with “youth crackdown squads” patrolling streets to enforce cultural purity.
- Citizens have no internet access, only a closed government intranet called Kwangmyong with state-approved content, while attempting to access outside information can result in severe punishment including execution.
Total Digital Control Through Automated Surveillance
The full extent of North Korea’s digital surveillance apparatus has been exposed through a smartphone smuggled out of the secretive nation by Daily NK, a Seoul-based media organization. The device, which runs a heavily modified version of Android, reveals a comprehensive system of control that monitors citizens’ every digital interaction. Most shocking is the automatic screenshot function that captures images of user activity every five minutes, storing them in hidden folders that cannot be accessed by ordinary users but remain available to government authorities for continuous monitoring and potential punishment.
The phone’s most insidious feature is its linguistic censorship system, which automatically replaces certain words and phrases to align with state ideology. Type ‘South Korea,’ and the phone instantly changes it to ‘puppet state.’ Try using the popular Korean term ‘oppa’ (a term of endearment for older males in South Korean culture), and it’s forcibly replaced with ‘comrade’ along with a stern warning: “This word can only be used to refer to siblings,” displays the North Korean smartphone message.
Information Warfare Against Foreign Influence
North Korea’s regime has intensified its information lockdown under Kim Jong Un’s leadership, with technology now serving as the primary weapon. Citizens have no access to the global internet, instead being limited to Kwangmyong, a closed intranet system containing only government-approved content. Any attempt to modify devices or access outside information is classified as a serious crime. Radios and phones come sealed against modification, with broken seals inviting harsh penalties from authorities who conduct routine inspections looking for signs of foreign influence.
“Smartphones are now part and parcel of the way North Korea tries to indoctrinate people,” said Martyn Williams, a North Korea technology expert. “North Korea is now starting to gain the upper hand in the information war.”
In 2023, the regime took its cultural purification efforts to new extremes by officially criminalizing the use of South Korean phrases or accents. This legal framework formalized what had already been unofficial policy: complete isolation from South Korean cultural influence. “Youth crackdown squads” now patrol the streets monitoring young North Koreans’ behavior and speech patterns for signs of foreign cultural contamination. These severe measures highlight the regime’s paranoia about losing ideological control over its population.
The Reality Behind the Censorship
The extreme level of censorship reveals the fragility of the North Korean regime’s grip on power. Despite risking brutal punishment including execution, many North Koreans still seek out forbidden media through smuggled USB drives and micro-SD cards containing South Korean content. Some even risk their lives to listen to foreign radio broadcasts that manage to penetrate the country’s closed information system. This desperate hunger for outside information persists despite the potentially fatal consequences.
“The reason for this control is that so much of the mythology around the Kim family is made up. A lot of what they tell people is lies,” explained Martyn Williams, a North Korea technology expert.
For former North Korean citizen Kang Gyuri, who faced reprimands for adopting South Korean styles, the system’s reach was inescapable. Her phone was regularly checked for forbidden terms, and any deviation from approved cultural norms brought swift punishment. The smartphone’s exposure provides unprecedented insight into the mechanics of how the North Korean state maintains its total control over citizens’ thoughts and communication, using technology not as a tool for connection but as a weapon of oppression that pervades every aspect of daily life.
