Copyright in North Korea
While North Korea overlooks illegal use of foreign software, it aggressively enforces copyright on pricey state-made programs. But does anyone benefit from this law besides the government profiting from it? (Image: iStock.com/baona, Canva)
For North Koreans, copyright is an unfamiliar concept. That said, if you were to ask whether copyright exists there, my answer would be yes. It’s just that it is applied differently.
I am writing this piece using Microsoft Word. Of course, I paid the appropriate fee to use the program. But if I were writing in North Korea, I wouldn’t have.
This makes me think, I’m ashamed to say, that not everything about life in North Korea is a loss.
But, seriously, software companies must have suffered losses because of North Korea. Every program used on computers is copied and distributed for free.
If someone were to tell people that software had to be paid for, they’d be treated as insane.
Demanding payment for something that can be obtained for free is hard to accept, no matter how right it may be.
Given this, copyright protection needs to be more than words. It must be accepted and enforced by law.
As their government is very lenient about copyright infringement, North Koreans have no qualms about illegally copying and distributing software to their acquaintances.
One day when I lived there, a program called ‘Singi’ appeared. It was an antivirus program. But what set it apart was that it was made in North Korea, and we had to pay to use it. This was bewildering when we encountered it for the first time. Pay for a program? What does that even mean?
Moreover, it was a lot. Singi cost 1,000 won a month. Considering the monthly wage at the time was 1,500 won, this was not an insignificant expense.
People were reluctant to use Singi. But, their resistance was quickly crushed as viruses began appearing everywhere, causing computers to stop working. Even without the Internet, computers in North Korea were infected with over 10,000 types of virus.
The strange thing was that every time Singi was updated, the viruses also upgraded, as if Singi was the one creating them.
It soon became impossible to use a computer without purchasing Singi.
I wasn’t the only one annoyed by this situation. Someone eventually figured out the Singi key. He became a hero to us all. We were so happy we could use Singi for free.
But this joy didn’t last long. The government sentenced our hero to three years in prison for copyright infringement.
This came as a shock. Previously, the government had never taken action against people for using foreign software illegally. They acted as if it wasn’t a big deal. But when the copyright infringement affected the government itself, authorities suddenly came down harshly.
This was very contradictory. Copyright infringement of foreign intellectual property wasn’t just an individual issue. It happened at the national level too.
Some of you might remember the performance by the Moranbong Band, where characters dressed as Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh danced on stage.
Did the government ask Disney for permission then?
And when the government sold the North Korean version of Frozen to its citizens for profit, did they pay royalties to Disney?
When I came to South Korea, I was shocked to realize that, even while living in such an isolated country, I had watched most Disney animations. I had purchased them legally from the government, but had no idea they were Disney films.
How could I have known that the government was making money off content from a country they label as an enemy?
Given the person who stole the Singi key got three years, what sort of sentence should the officials give themselves for stealing like this from other countries?
The North Korean government’s copyright infringement became more pronounced around 2016. The film and IT sectors took the initiative. Until then, the film industry had achieved little, failing to produce any new films. The best they could do was selling compilation CDs of old black-and-white movies at Mokran video stores. But honestly, who would still want to watch black-and-white films in 2016?
Things changed when they started copying and selling foreign films. People rushed to the video stores.
The government made a fortune from nothing more than a simple translation effort. And since this was done with unpaid labor, there were no costs involved.
One notable example is the Chinese drama Obstetrician, which swept across North Korea.
It sold for 800 won per episode. To watch the entire series, you needed 24,000 won. This was the amount of money a citizen would earn after working for the government for 18 months.
The government was buying labor from its people at dirt-cheap rates while selling stolen products at high prices.
Does it make sense that people would have to work 18 months just to watch one TV series?
An interesting fact is that the government’s sales tactics became more sophisticated. Instead of selling CDs, they began offering mobile-only versions of content. The problem with this was that the video quality was so poor that it was difficult for a family to watch together.
The content also came with protection features, making it impossible to share it, even among family members.
As a result, nearly everyone was forced to purchase their own copy of Obstetrician. It was clear the government had found ways to squeeze as much money as possible from its people.
Another money-making venture was through the sale of IT products. If you wanted to download an app, you had to go through the IT Exchange Center. It sold various mobile games to people. Those who owned mobile phones needed entertainment to go along with them.
Back then, the primary function of mobile phones in North Korea wasn’t for making calls. They functioned as a status symbol, a way to show off.
The emergence of mobile games perfectly met the needs of the times. Angry Birds, Three Kingdoms, Maze Runner, Mario etc.
People eagerly opened their wallets for these fun and high-quality games.
But after coming to South Korea, I saw these exact same games. I wondered, could South Korea have copied from North Korea? You probably have a good guess.
Even now, the business of selling foreign content and programs is thriving in North Korea. Since there are no upfront costs, it’s a perfect business for the government.
At this point, one has to wonder: Who is the government’s push for IT development really benefiting? Can we really say it’s not just a way to steal foreign programs more effectively?
So, what does copyright mean in North Korea? It’s certainly not for individuals, nor is it for corporations. Even now, North Koreans use foreign software without paying any fees. Only when the government’s interests are at stake does it start to raise its voice on copyright protection.
The money paid in such cases goes not to the foreign companies that own the software, but straight into the pockets of the government.
Copyright exists to prevent its citizens from stealing what the government itself has stolen from abroad.
If the government intended to engage in theft, it should have kept the pretense of dignity and nobility to a minimum.
Intellectual property rights must be protected. Especially when dealing with a dictatorship.
Born in Chongjin in 1990, Jang Mi was not a studious child, but under her mother’s influence, she graduated from high school and went on to university to take math and science. She worked as a wedding video editor for seven years until her defection in 2019.
Latest posts by Jang Mi (see all)
- The problem of anxiety inherent in capitalism - June 25, 2025
- What happens when cinema loses its freedom - June 23, 2025
- Who digs through the garbage? - May 29, 2025