It's crazy to think that just 25 years ago, the internet didn't exist. Wi-Fi was introduced only 16 years ago, out of the 200 thousand that humans have been around. 81% of Britain and 88% of America have daily access to the internet. Sweden has the highest internet penetration, at 96%. Every nation has a least some access to the web, as seen in the map below. The internet and the technology age have revolutionized the world; the power of the internet drives the development of the world today.
However, there is one nation - that the US does not recognize - that has the absolute lowest internet penetration of any other country. That would be North Korea. As shown in the image below, North Korea is a black hole for modern technology.
We all know that North Korea is an oppressive state where citizens are not given basic rights; it’s overrun with famine, poverty, and oppression. In addition to the physical depravity that is life for North Korean subjects, there is nonexistent access to outside affairs, including access to the internet. The totalitarian rule completely outlaws any foreign communication, punishable by the most inhumane consequences.
The United States have always searched for inlets to see inside of this totalitarian country’s completely shut doors, however this week, North Korea made it easy. On September 19th, North Korea accidentally allowed access to its internet and its sites, which totaled up to 28. North Korea manages an internet for its millions of people containing only 28 websites, all run by the government and containing zero external sources. Not that most of the subjects even have access to the internet, let alone electricity in most places.
These 28 websites, accessed by hackers for a brief period of time while the malfunction occurred, include a few news sites (endorsing the leader, Kim Jung-un), a recipe website, a website for the university, and a sports website.
Censoring is a controversial issue that all nations argue about, however censorship in North Korea is so tight that it is brainwashing. The websites provide propaganda to North Korean people that praise the leader as the chosen one, with no other opinion even entering the playing field to contest that. In fact, everything in North Korea is so outdated that lots of things like clothes and websites haven't developed past previous decades.
The website leak showed quite a bit about the secretive North Korean government and about how the people there live. A little leak led to a huge discovery, a glimpse into the North Korean way of life. One day, hopefully there will be more than 28 websites out of the billions available in the world accessible to the people of North Korea.
