Mobile phones in North Korea: the light in a dark society?

Today in North Korea there are around 1.5 million mobile phone users, mainly concentrated in the capital city of Pyongyang. Mobiles phones in North Korea can do nearly everything you would expect from a sophisticated smartphone: apart from not being allowed internet access, these mobile phones can take pictures, play music and, of course, make calls. Even Bluetooth technology is being used by North Koreans to exchange information between mobile phones. However, apparently these are not the functions for which North Koreans are falling in love with their smartphones. This is because mobile phones in North Korea serve a more brilliant purpose: they are the most reliable source of light in a dark world.

Kim Sung-man is from Pyongyang, and left North Korea in 2012. After telling us about a North Korean saying that goes, ‘The most common thing after water is a power cut’, he continues, “A torch is a necessary thing in North Korea. If you don’t have one, you can’t do anything after sunset. Ever since mobile phones were introduced, people have been carrying them instead of lugging around a separate torch. Besides, batteries are hard to obtain, and ordinary torches are only used when absolutely necessary. Phones are not only more compact, but don’t require new batteries.”

In Pyongyang, it is very common for power cuts to occur in the subway system. It turns pitch dark during a power cut, as the subway system was built 100 metres underground in order to be used as shelters in the event of war. Apparently, the most popular passengers are the ones who get their mobile phones out. “You don’t take out a torch anymore – that’s considered old fashioned”, explains Sung-man.

Perhaps North Koreans like to see the primary function of mobile phones as torches because they don’t see the other functions of a phone as attractive or useful. Sung-man finishes by saying, “Calls are not cheap, and there’s not much good news to share anyway.” Yet the bright light of the smartphone screen is different: “It is a mark of your life being better than others without a phone, as well as a symbol of North Korea’s future prosperity.”

This reminds us of the newly designed luxury apartments in the Mansudae area of Pyongyang, as seen below.

Newly designed apartments for DPRK officials in Pyongyang’s Mansudae district.

The outside lights are blinding neon, which are obviously not for the benefit of its residents, but for those looking up to the residents. What little electricity there exists in North Korea is used for show rather than practical illumination.  This is why when cutting edge technology, such as smartphones, comes to North Korea’s closed and monitored society, it is perceived by North Koreans as a torch first and phone second.

In related news, phone jokes are once again on the rise, according to our sources in Pyongyang: “If your phone runs out of juice, it’s due to a ‘personal power-cut.’ If the call cuts out in the middle of a conversation, it’s due to a ‘national power-cut.'”