North Korea now has its own version of Netflix.
Kim Jong-un’s communist police state now offers a regime-approved VOD service, which offers five channels to citizens in Pyongyang, Sinuiju, Sariwon, and the North provinces of Phyongan and Hwanghae. The state broadcaster’s service also provides English and Russian language learning material.
“Several hundred” people in Sinuiju are interested in obtaining the product, NK News, a North Korean watchdog, reported Aug. 18. The device, known as “Manbang” translates to “everywhere.”
Netflix, in contrast, has over 83 million members in over 190 countries.
“If a viewer wants to watch, for instance, an animal movie and sends a request to the equipment, it will show the relevant video to the viewer … this is two-way communications,” Kim Jong Min, head of the center in charge of providing information and technology, said in a Korea Central Television investigation, NK News reported.
The watchdog noted that North Korea’s 2015 rating for secure internet server per million people is rated at zero by the World Bank and Netcraft. South Korea has 2,320 secure servers per million people.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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