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Internet access, computers and high-tech life at PUST
Will Scott, a computer scientist from Washington state, just returned from several months as a guest lecturer at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST). In an interview with North Korea Tech and in posts on Reddit, Scott spoke about what it’s like to be at PUST. This is part two of a three-part…
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Experiences of a PUST teacher
Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST) is one of the more ambitious international ventures in North Korea of the last few years. Almost ten years in planning, PUST is the country’s first privately-run university and backed with funds from evangelical Christian organizations in the U.S. and overseas. It currently has several hundred students and…
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‘No discernible improvement’ in DPRK human rights in 2013
Human Rights Watch says it has seen “no discernible improvement” in the human rights situation in North Korea since Kim Jong Un took power in late 2011. The verdict, which likely comes as no surprise to anyone that watches the country, was included in the New York-based group’s annual “World Report” on human rights in…
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KCNA Watch attracts bans in North and South Korea
KCNA Watch, a website that collects articles, pictures and video from the Korean Central News Agency, isn’t making friends on either side of the Korean border. A communications regulator in South Korea has blocked access to the service while the North Korean government has restricted access to its services from New Zealand, apparently due to…
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South Korea’s Internet only “partly free,” says Freedom House
Despite living in one of the most wired societies in the world, South Korean Internet users enjoy a “partly free” Internet due to government censorship of content, according to the results of a global survey on Internet freedom. Censorship of content, which includes many websites that carry North Korean content, has shot up in recent…
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Schmidt’s Washington speech on North Korea, Internet and dictatorships
Google has posted video of Eric Schmidt’s remarks at the recent “Big Tent” event in Washington, D.C. The Google-organized events act as idea summits and have been running for about three years and the D.C. event took place on April 26. During his speech, the chairman of Google talked about North Korea and the impact…
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Schmidt’s Internet message “well received,” says Richardson
Google Chairman Eric Schmidt’s message on the importance of embracing the Internet was “well received” in Pyongyang, according to Bill Richardson, a former governor of New Mexico. Richardson, writing in The Washington Post on Friday, invited Schmidt to accompany him on a private trip to North Korea in January. During the trip, the delegation met with…
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North again ranked second worst for press freedom
File this one under business as usual. North Korea was again ranked second-to-last in Reporters Without Borders’ annual press freedom index while South Korea continued to drop down the ranking. The Paris-based press censorship watchdog ranked North Korea as 178th in its survey, just one rank above Eritrea. “Kim Jong-un’s arrival at the head of…
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Eric Schmidt on his North Korean visit
Google Chairman Eric Schmidt has posted some thoughts on his recent trip to Pyongyang. The comments appeared on his Google Plus page on Saturday, the same day his daughter also posted her impressions of the trip. The executive’s comments won’t provide any big revelations, at least they shouldn’t to readers of this blog. He generally…
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DPRK officials indicated Internet is inevitable, says Sophie Schmidt
Sophie Schmidt, the daughter of Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, has written a comprehensive blog post about her recent trip to Pyongyang and included in her revelations: North Korean officials seemed to acknowledge they can’t keep the Internet out. The posting is perhaps the most complete account yet of the visit by any member of the group,…
