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소아쌤

North Koreans hold their own Google Map

By Lim Jeong-yeo

Published : June 27, 2017 - 14:44

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North Koreans now have a homegrown mobile application that guides them through unfamiliar destinations.

The North’s propaganda website Mei-ari, or Echo, said Tuesday that the newly developed “Pyongyang Directions 1.0” is receiving a heated response from users there.

Mei-ari’s announcement highlighted the growing presence of mobile technology in the North.

 
Image of a supposed North Korean smartphone captured from Mei-ari website. (Yonhap) Image of a supposed North Korean smartphone captured from Mei-ari website. (Yonhap)

The “Pyongyang Directions 1.0” is an online map that apparently shows the locations and the directions to various places such as science, education, sports, culture amenities and healthcare services in the reclusive regime’s capital city.

The map lists out the contact information and the details of the services provided at each venue.

In a report published in August 2016, over 46 percent of the 138 North Korean defectors surveyed by Seoul National University’s Institute for Peace and Unification Studies said they had used mobile phones in North Korea.

The North also reportedly adopted a mobile payment service in 2016.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)

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