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How Technology Gets the News Out of North Korea

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the information-finds-a-way dept.

itwbennett writes "Kim Dong-cheol is a North Korean with 'a double life,' writes the IDG News Service's Martyn Williams in a story on ITworld. 'In addition to his job as a driver for a company, Kim also works as a clandestine reporter for AsiaPress, a Japanese news agency that's taken advantage of the digital electronics revolution to get reports from inside North Korea,' says Williams. 'When we started training journalists in 2003 or 2004, getting cameras into North Korea was a real problem,' said Jiro Ishimaru, chief editor of the news agency, at a Tokyo news conference on Monday. 'Nowadays, within North Korea you are able to have your pick of Sony, Panasonic or Samsung cameras.' The images they're capturing are 'often startling,' and it 'documents a side of the country the government doesn't want the world to see,' says Williams."

6 of 173 comments (clear)

  1. Samsung? by AndyAndyAndyAndy · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Noticed they mentioned Samsung... I wonder why N. Korea is allowing S. Korean brands to be sold. Any ideas?

    --
    It's always confirmation bias!
    1. Re:Samsung? by jojoba_oil · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I'm hesitant to post this; but here goes...

      Despite the history of Korea being kicked around by the rest of Asia, there are many unofficial ties between DPRKorea and Japan. Whole communities of rich Juche supporters live in Japan. Even the official news outlet (Korea Central News Agency) runs under a jp domain...

      As for my hesitancy: Outside of the obtuse one-liners, the standard Western person (and most news media) seems to be completely uninterested in that region, yet still feels that they should analyze and report on the situation.

  2. Collecting grass for rich people's rabbits... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

    My first response was that that was awful and reflected very badly on the country.

    Then I remembered meeting a dirty ragged skin and bones dude I met the other day on the street in my own western democracy. He survived off of collecting bottles from rich peoples garbage. I wonder how that would go down as a single picture and story with no broader context?

    While I still am almost certain North Korea is much much worse on average, it is an interesting thought. A single case a statistic does not make.

  3. does anyone really care about sanctuary? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    There's one bright spot when it comes to the DMZ. It's home to a lot of species that wouldn't thrive anywhere else.

  4. Re:I've Seen North Korea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As a Romanian, I can tell you that it wasn't the Romanians who took care of them, although that was the general feeling in the West.

    The "good guy" in that particular situation was the KGB.

  5. Re:I've Seen North Korea by Algan · · Score: 2, Interesting

    As a Romanian, I can tell you that I couldn't care less who was behind it, the guy got what he deserved.

    --
    If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?