In North Korea, a Quiet Computer Evolution

The outside perception of North Korea is understandably pretty grim. Backward, agrarian, repressive, war-like, hard-line communist, these are all terms which can legitimately be used to describe North Korea, at least if the political refugees who have escaped and the foreign journalists allowed to enter the country are to be believed. Yet there is, apparently, another side to North Korea, a technological side, which does have some interaction with the outside world through the internet. And it is a technological side which has actually done business with countries in the Middle East and other nations in Asia. North Korean technology companies have even, reportedly, developed video games for Japanese gaming giants Nintendo and Sony. At the link, you’ll be able to read a piece which gives further details on the state of computer, gaming and online technology in North Korea. Because while it is easy to disdain and vilify Kim Jong Il and the dictatorial nightmare he has perpetuated for his countrymen, it is also easy to feel pain and sorrow for the innocent, everyday people who are trying to make a living and provide for their families under harsh government oppression. But as this story suggests, there may be qualified hope for some freedom for North Koreans through the development, implementation and use of online computer technologies. (Asian Correspondent – North Korean Tech Evolution)