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Video games in North Korea

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Two children, one sitting down and another one standing while aiming, are playing a light-gun shooter game in front of a large projected screen. It displays a forest area and appears to feature several animals which one must shoot to achieve points.
Children playing a light-gun shooter game in North Korea

North Korea has a burgeoning video game industry. North Koreans play video games on mobile phones, personal computers, home consoles, and in arcades. North Korea does develop its own video games, although foreign games are also popular among young people in the country as they are occasionally distributed through jangmadang, or North Korean black markets.

Video games first appeared in the country during the 1990s in amusement arcades, and foreign cabinets are available in locations such as the Pyongyang Gold Lane and Rungra People's Pleasure Ground. Mobile games gained popularity in the 2010s with the success of a puzzle game called Strength (힘), leading to increased investment in the North Korean video game industry. Over 250 mobile games are available in North Korea. PC games are also popular among the country's youth, with foreign games often being distributed illegally on USB flash drives. Foreign home video game consoles such as those produced by Nintendo, Sony, and Subor are also available in North Korea.

Arcades

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Two people are playing a racing game sitting on motorcycle-shaped seats connected to a pair of arcade cabinets labeled with the title "Cyber Cycles". Two other people stand aside and watch them play.
A Cyber Cycles arcade cabinet at the Pyongyang Gold Lane bowling alley

Amusement arcades were the first way that video games became widely available to North Koreans, having first appeared in the country in the early 1990s. Arcades are common in the country.[1] Popular arcade game genres include light-gun shooter games, pinball machines,[2] and virtual reality games.[1] The Pyongyang Gold Lane is a bowling alley that has foreign arcade cabinets like Daytona USA available to play.[2] The Rungra People's Pleasure Ground also has foreign arcade games such as Monaco GP and Let's Go Jungle.[3][4]

Mobile games

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See also: Telecommunications in North Korea

Mobile gaming is popular in North Korea, and most people in Pyongyang own smartphones.[2] According to a 2021 estimate by the South Korean organization Korea Institute for National Unification, around 23% of North Koreans own a smartphone.[5] In large cities such as Pyongyang, there are physical stores that sell apps and games for people to install onto their phones.[1] Smartphones in North Korea cannot access the Internet, but rather access the Kwangmyong, North Korea's intranet service. North Korean phones run a modified version of an Android operating system.[2] The localized Android operating system used in North Korea restricts users from downloading unapproved software or viewing unsanctioned media.[6]

An older man is sitting down on a train, staring down while playing a tile-maching mobile game. A child sitting next to him is also looking over at his phone.
A man playing a mobile game on the Pyongyang Metro

In 2014, a quiz game app called Strength (힘) that was developed at Kim Il Sung University reportedly sold 1 million copies. The success of the game caused increased investment in North Korean game development. In 2022, a South Korean research institute called the North Korea ICT Research Association (북한ICT연구회) estimated based on interviews with around 10 North Korean defectors that there were 250 mobile games available in a North Korean app market called "My Road Companion 4.3" (나의길동무 4.3).[7]

North Korean mobile games are often bootleg versions of foreign games like Clash of Clans,[8] Angry Birds, and Bejeweled.[2] Domestically produced games also exist, such as a strategy game called Imjin Fatherland War 1.0 (임진조국전쟁 1.0),[7] a shooter game called Tiger Special Forces (호랑이 특전대), and educational games such as Mysterious Dice (신비한 주사위) and School Trip (수학여행).[9] Nosotek is a Western-funded North Korean video game studio that has developed mobile games based on Western films like The Big Lebowski and the Men in Black series, which have been published in the West by News Corp.[10][11]

The North Korean government has produced propaganda films against problematic smartphone use and video game addiction.[12]

PC games

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According to a 2018 survey of 8,500 North Korean households conducted by UNICEF, 18.7% of households owned a computer, and 1.4% of households could access the North Korean intranet.[13] Illegally acquired foreign video games are popular among urban youth. These games are typically shared on USB flash drives.[14] A North Korean defector who entered South Korea in 2019 claimed that North Korean police did not generally view the playing of foreign video games as a significant issue; they even viewed it as less serious as the consumption of foreign videos or music. They claimed that, if one is caught playing foreign video games, they could bribe police officers to avoid harsher punishment.[15]

The most popular PC video game is Counter-Strike. Although online matches cannot be played, it is still popular to play against bots.[1] Other popular PC games played in North Korea have included Grand Theft Auto V, FIFA Online,[14] Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Age of Empires, DotA, and SimCity.[2] Because most North Koreans do not have access to personal computers, computer cafés were popular places for gaming in Pyongyang in the late 1990s.[2] According to Yonhap News Agency, computer cafés began to be granted permission to operate officially beginning on July 1, 2002. One such facility in Chongjin, documented in 2005, required a monthly membership fee of 20,000 North Korean won per month; by comparison, a typical North Korean person's salary was around 2,500 won per month. The business allowed access to the North Korean intranet and video games produced in North Korea and China.[16] The download statistics page of the video game storefront Steam recorded only a single point of traffic from the entire country since 2013. PC Gamer suggested this to be "North Korea's only Steam user."[17]

In 2012, the North Korean game company Nosotek was commissioned by Koryo Tours to create Pyongyang Racer, a browser-based racing game that is marketed towards Western tourists.[18] It was inspired by retro arcade racing games.[19] Hunting Yankee is a North Korean first-person shooter game about shooting American soldiers.[20][21][22] In 2025, the North Korean government began to develop a computer gaming center in a facility with room for 300 PCs.[23][24]

Home consoles

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View of the PlayStation 1 console.
The PlayStation was available in North Korea in the 1990s, and was played by Kim Jong Un in his youth.

Beginning in the 1990s, foreign home video game consoles like the Famicom and PlayStation gained popularity in North Korea. Many were brought into the country by North Koreans traveling abroad,[a] and others were sent as gifts by Zainichi Koreans to their relatives in North Korea. They were also available in department stores, but were unaffordable for most North Koreans.[2] Many games illegally imported for home consoles in the 1990s were played in temporary gaming centers operated in private homes to avoid government surveillance.[7]

According to interviews with former classmates of Kim Jong Un by journalist Anna Fifield, Kim Jong Un played basketball-themed sports video games on the PlayStation when he lived in Switzerland in his youth.[26]

The Moranbong is a home video game console released on North Korean markets in 2019. The Moranbong is a localized version of the Subor G80 (also known as the Cdragon Cassidy G80), a Chinese console that uses a motion controller like the Wii and a camera like the Kinect. It runs on the Android operating system.[27] The Moranbong is sold pre-equipped with sports games, fitness games, educational games, and shooter games.[7]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Since the 1990s North Korean famine, it has not been uncommon for items to be smuggled across the northern border with China.[25]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Video Games in North Korea". Young Pioneer Tours. 20 November 2019. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Jia, Oliver (28 October 2021). "Super Mario in Pyongyang: North Korea's burgeoning video game culture". NK News. Archived from the original on 13 May 2025. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  3. ^ "Inside North Korea's Newest Video Game Arcade". Kotaku. 15 August 2013. Archived from the original on 18 June 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  4. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (20 April 2017). "This North Korean Arcade Propaganda, My Goodness". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 18 February 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  5. ^ Yoon, Min-sik (13 February 2024). "Near-quarter of N. Koreans own mobile phones: study". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  6. ^ Williams, Martyn (24 September 2024). "North Korea's Smartphone Market Expands as Border Restrictions End". 38 North. Archived from the original on 14 June 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d Choe, Hyeonseok (15 December 2022). [한반도의 오늘] 북한서 모바일게임 250여개 유통…인앱결제 통한 '현질'도 활발 [[Today on the Korean Peninsula] Over 250 mobile games available in North Korea... In-app "micro-transactions" available too]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Archived from the original on 6 April 2025. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  8. ^ "North Korea's Take on Clash of Clans Gains Internet Attention -". mxdwn Games. 28 February 2025. Archived from the original on 5 April 2025. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  9. ^ Hong, Yudam (13 January 2020). 북한은 '해킹'만 한다?…각양각색 게임으로 '재미'도 노린다 [North Korea only 'hacks'?... It also has 'fun' with all kinds of games]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Archived from the original on 21 February 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Kim Bowled for Murdoch's Dollars With Korean Games". Bloomberg News. 7 September 2010. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015.
  11. ^ Tiku, Nitasha (7 September 2010). "Kim Jong Il and the Dude Go Bowling for Foreign Dollars". Intelligencer. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  12. ^ Zwirko, Colin (23 April 2021). "North Korea discourages computer game addiction, pushes tech in new short film". NK News. Archived from the original on 15 March 2025. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  13. ^ "UNICEF data shows N. Koreans lack access to computers". Yonhap News Agency. 25 June 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2025 – via The Korea Herald.
  14. ^ a b Vincent, Brittany (20 August 2018). "North Korea Sees Rise in Popularity for Foreign Video Games". Variety. Archived from the original on 4 July 2025. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  15. ^ Mun, Donghui (29 October 2020). 컴퓨터 게임 즐기는 北 대학생들… "DOTA, 워크래프트 인기" [North Korean college studies enjoy PC games... "DoTA, WarCraft popular"]. Daily NK (in Korean). Archived from the original on 5 April 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  16. ^ 북한 청진시의 다목적 PC방 [Multi-purpose Internet Café in Chongjin] (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 13 July 2005. Retrieved 10 July 2025 – via The Hankyoreh.
  17. ^ Wolens, Joshua (19 June 2025). "North Korea's only Steam user disappeared yesterday, but not to worry: They're back and gaming harder than ever". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 23 June 2025. Retrieved 29 June 2025. The absence of North Korean users from Steam—hell, the internet in general—means a single resident (or perhaps household, office, something of the sort) of the country has become a kind of anonymous celebrity over the past several years. If you look at Steam's download stats page and flick over to Satellite View, you'll see that Steam puts a little green dot on every corner of the globe it's gotten traffic from in the last seven days.
  18. ^ Corriea, Alexa Ray (20 December 2012). "The first game developed in North Korea is a browser racing game for tourists". Polygon. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  19. ^ "North Korea's First Racing Video Game Is Terrible". Vice. 20 February 2013. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  20. ^ Ji, Dagyum (25 August 2017). "North Korean media promoting new "Hunting Yankee" first-person shooter game". NK News. Archived from the original on 25 January 2025. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  21. ^ Chalk, Andy (28 August 2017). "Hunting Yankee is a North Korean game about shooting US soldiers". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 16 June 2025. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  22. ^ Smith, Nicola (27 August 2017). "North Korean firm releases 'Hunting Yankee' computer game". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 17 February 2025. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  23. ^ "North Korea opens a computer club: can you spot one, though?". Cybernews. 15 April 2025. Archived from the original on 29 May 2025. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  24. ^ Zwirko, Colin (4 April 2025). "Kim Jong Un vows cars and gaming for core citizens, but what's behind the pitch?". NK News. Archived from the original on 28 June 2025. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  25. ^ Reed, H. E.; Keely, C. B. (2001). Forced Migration and Mortality. National Research Council (US) Roundtable on the Demography of Forced Migration. doi:10.17226/10086. hdl:10419/170700. ISBN 978-0-309-07334-9. PMID 25057553. Archived from the original on 25 September 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  26. ^ Fifield, Anna (13 August 2017). "Who is Kim Jong Un and what will he decide to do?". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  27. ^ McFerran, Damien (29 October 2019). "Random: This North Korean Games Console Is Straight Outta 2006". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
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