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| Foreign computer and video games are becoming popular in North Korea, while the Kim Jong-un regime is producing its own games, including this first-person shooting game called ?Hunting Yankee.? / Captured image from Arirang-Meari. |
By Yi Whan-woo
Foreign computer and video games are becoming popular among North Korean youth, according to defectors in Seoul.
They say the games vary from "Grand Theft Auto 5," "FIFA Online" and "Project IGI2" and that "every one of" their friends played them when they (the defectors) were in the reclusive state.
Such popularity comes as North Korea introduces its own computer and video games.
"I played almost all of the most famous South Korean video games in North Korea ... Every one of my friends has played foreign video games," a defector, 14, told Daily NK in Seoul recently.
"All kids learn about the game and play it once it is carried on a USB stick and hits the streets."
The defector said it was uncertain where the games originated, although it is speculated they are being smuggled from China.
Another defector said game lovers could play in a group by connecting their computers via LAN cables.
"Being able to connect a LAN cable and play games means they knew quite a lot about computers," he said.
He added North Korean authorities found it difficult to crack down on the computer game players because they hid the games by changing the names of files and their types.
"The authorities don't actively go after players of foreign computer games, and it's easy to change the filename extension of the document to mp3 .avi .doc .jpg, etc. in order to hide it in plain sight," he said.
"People aren't worried about getting caught playing foreign games because the authorities are focused on cracking down on South Korean movies and dramas."
Meanwhile, a third source said North Korea was producing its own computer and video games.
According to the Sunday Express in the U.K., North Korea introduced a first-person shooting game titled "Hunting Yankee" last year.
It challenges players to shoot American troops and was one of the war-themed video games linked to the North's repeated missile tests last year.
The Express said the North Korean Advanced Technology Research Institute separately developed three games that were available on mobile phones _ "Confrontation War," "Guardian," and "Goguryeo Battlefield."
