North Korea Uses Linux to Advance Computer Technology

The DMZ which separates North and South Korea also represents the largest, deepest digital divide in the world.  To the South, The Republic of Korea has the worlds most advanced and dense digital networks, while North Korea, by comparison, has barely started to build such an infrastructure.
An article in The Korea Times yesterday provides some interesting detail about how North Korea is attempting to close the digital divide on the software side of the ICT sector.  This is interesting because South Korea, while extremely strong in ICT hardware manufacturing and exporting, has historically been relatively weak in software. Earlier posts on this blog have called attention to its heavy reliance on Microsoft, to the point of being a "Microsoft monoculture."
In a strategically interesting move, North Korea has developed its own version of the Linux open-source operating system, called "Red Star."  (Click on graphic to see full-sized version of a Red Star home page) According to researchers at South Korea's Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI), the software is currently being used mainly to monitor the web behavior of North Korean citizens and to control the information made available to them.  However, the fact that they are developing an operating system to control the flow of information within the country is meaningful in itself.  North Korea seems to be looking to expand the use of its computer programs into more areas.  Prior to developing Red Star in 2002, the North Korean government relied on the English version of Microsoft Windows, according to STEPI.

Korea's Microsoft Monoculture: the Downside

There is an excellent article in today's Korea Times about the price South Korea is paying for an almost exclusive reliance upon Microsoft Windows based software and its "Active-X" controls.  As the article notes, some critics would claim that the almost complete reliance on Microsoft software here makes the country's computing experience outdated by about a decade, compared with the rest of the world. As the article notes, ". . . Linux, Firefox, Chrome and Opera users can't bank or purchase products online, and where Mac users buy Windows CDs to prevent their devices being reduced to fashion items." It is going to be a major challenge to break this heavy reliance on Microsoft and introduce some healthy diversity into the Korean market. However, it is a challenge that must be met for this country to remain competitive and in tune with global developments.

Hana Linux and Korean Reunification

The recent announcement coming out of a conference in China that North and South Korea would work together on Linux software has already generated a spate of hyperbolic commentary on the web. Training centers for Linux professionals will be developed at Yenben and Dandung in China, and at Pyongyang, Kaesong and Hoichun in North Korea, according to reports. To place this announcement in some sort of perspective, it is helpful to remember the following:

• Windows is still dominant in the South Korean market, despite some recent announcements. When the Ministry of Information and Communication announced in early 2006 that it would designate a "Linux City" and a "Linux University" only 1 percent of the nation's computers were running Linux (lower than the global median of 3 percent). Near the end of 2006 Kwangju was designated as an open-source city, in a project running from 2006-2010, which will bear watching.
• North Korea, despite having few connections to the internet and virtually no modern mobile telecommunication networks, reportedly has made some progress in software development. The government in the North may well view joint software development, including Linux, as a non-controversial way to start cooperation with colleagues from the South.
• Especially in the Korean context, announcement of a project and actual implementation can be two very different things.
• Will the jointly developed Linux be solely for the use of Koreans with only the Korean market in view, or will the developers envisage Korea's role in the global information economy?

South Korea has unquestionably made progress in the development of Linux, developing its own version called Buyeo, for use in Seoul schools. Also, the project to make Kwangju an open source city is underway. These developments all merit attention, as do joint South-North efforts on Linux. More to come on this topic.