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The North
Smart
appliances such as S5, Note 4 and Tab S are the latest products in Samsung
Galaxy series. These technological gadgets are commonly seen in South Korea. However,
many North Koreans living in their isolated communist world may not even know the
existence of these modern products.
The level
of information and communications technology (ICT) in Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea (DPRK) is awfully low,
with more than 93% of its population without an access to mobile cellular (“The
World Factbook”, 2011). On the other hand, the number of mobile phones in the
South is 5% more than the number of South Koreans (Park, 2011).
DPRK’s enterprises and foreign
authorities can save the North’s fate of losing out to the South in terms of
ICT level by increasing the ICT access and knowledge among the current and
future generations of the workforce in DPRK to protect both the ‘micro’ and
‘macro’ sectors of the North. Due to these devastating impacts of the ICT
deficiency, the individuals and the nation are also motivated to increase their
access to ICT in DPRK.
The “Micro” and “Macro” losses
As
technology advances, the inadequate ICT devices and skills among the workforce
of DPRK causes them to ‘lose out’ to the internet-savvy South Koreans. Looking
at the ‘micro’ level, the employability of a North Korean worker, who lacks the
ICT knowledge, may be lower than that of another South Korean. This is because
North Koreans, who cannot catch up with the modern technology to maximise their
productivity and profit the company, may not be valued in multi-national
companies (MNCs) (“Connecting to Work: How ICTs Are Expanding Job Opportunities
Worldwide”, 2013).
The
‘macro’ problem arises when DPRK’s economy is filled with workers who are unequipped
with ICT skills. Thus, DPRK faces difficulty in transforming from a
labour-based to a skill-based economy and this results in an extremely low Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) per capita of USD 1, 800 (“The World Factbook”, 2011). Looking
at this broader picture of digital divide, we can see that the lack of ICT has
affected DPRK‘s economy negatively, while South Korea’s high-tech industries
turn her into a highly developed nation. It is why many individuals and, in
fact, the whole DPRK are willing to take a pro-ICT stand ("Digital Review
of Asia Pacific 2009-2010", 2010).
Political obstacles and possibilities
Although
DPRK’s political restriction over ICT is a big obstacle that creates the
digital divide between the two Koreas, Bruce (2012) asserts that it is possible
for the communist government to relinquish its control over the flow of
information within DPRK as several pro-ICT political attempts have been
implemented. According to him, Koryolink, the DPRK’s only 3G mobile operator is
“blessed” by the “Dear Leader”, Kim Jong Il. Do (2013) also reports that the current
leader, Kim Jong Sung allows the North Koreans catch glimpses of the “outside
world” with intranet. These governmental efforts demonstrate DPRK’s willingness
to shift its political stance gradually for the economic benefits of ICT. Thus,
efforts from the enterprise sectors and foreign powers are possible to carry
out and the positive effects of bridging the digital gap by these efforts can
further entice the Stalinist government to quicken its steps towards the ICT
world.
Local effort-the IT classes
To raise the North
Koreans’ labour productivity, local companies in DPRK can provide IT classes for their employees. Companies can
collaborate to conduct these cost-effective courses for a larger population of employees
by hiring a few IT experts. Such partnership may even flourish the
industry of IT classes, which is currently absent in DPRK, to benefit a greater
community of North Koreans. These company-funded IT courses impart the relevant
ICT knowledge to the employees, who have little interaction with the high-tech
devices due to the low GDP per capita. This knowledge on how to operate the
computer programmes will help the workers manipulate raw data effectively into
useful information for analyse. Thus, we can conclude that these IT classes can
increase the North Korean workers’ economic productivity.
International efforts- Student
Exchange Programmes and Subsidised ICT products
On the other hand, international parties can contribute to
reduce the digital gap by providing ICT educational opportunities for the
future members of DPRK’s workforce. Just like how foreign internships of Choson
Exchange have exposed many North Koreans students to the outside world (“Choson
Exchange”, 2014), student exchanges between universities of DPRK and
ICT-developed nations can help the students to gain more ICT knowledge while they
are in these ICT-advanced environments. However, such programmes may only
benefit the rich minority students. Thus, foreign subsidisation of ICT devices
for universities in DPRK is another plausible effort. For instance, the South
government can cooperate with South Korea’s large MNC, Samsung to sell cheaper tablets
to the schools in DPRK. Lee and Hwang (2004) also feel that DPRK’s close neighbour,
South Korea, with her financial resources and established ICT infrastructure, is
the best foreign power to intervene and boost DPRK’s ICT level. According to
them, high-tech companies in the South can also benefit by expanding their
market to DPRK. In this way, the future North Korean workforce will be equipped with ICT
skills while the South can earn profits from these sales of technological
gadgets.
Mission Possible
Just like how no one in the 20th century
believes that the Sick Man of Asia will become the second greatest economy in
the world in 2010 (McCurry and Kollewe, 2011), not many people believe that
bridging the digital divide on Korean peninsula is possible. This is why I feel
that contributions from the local businesses and foreign interventions to
improve the ICT infrastructure and knowledge among the present and future
labour force of DPRK are important. The successful impacts of increasing ICT
access in DPRK may convince the North government to take a more ICT-inclined
stand. Furthermore, the 'micro' and 'macro' benefits from the access to ICT, in
my opinion, encourage individuals and the whole country to hasten their steps
towards the digital world. This is a “mission possible” which builds its
foundation from the support of the people, the businesses, the nation and the
foreign powers.
References:
1. Bruce, S. T. (2012). Information
Technology in North Korea: A Double-Edged Sword. Retrieved October 9, 2014, from http://www.jpri.org/publications/workingpapers/wp118.html
2.
Choson Exchange. (2014). Retrieved October 4, 2014, from http://www.chosonexchange.org/mission-and-history/
3.
Connecting
to Work: How ICTs Are Expanding Job Opportunities Worldwide. (2013).
Retrieved September 30, 2014, from http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2013/09/10/how-icts-are-expanding-job-opportunities
4.
Digital Review of Asia Pacific
2009-2010. (2010).
Retrieved September 30, 2014, from http://books.google.com.sg/books?id=R4u48rbqEe0C&pg=PA232&lpg=PA232&dq=north+korea+ict&source=bl&ots=KpS6864kmH&sig=DbOIoNY8KKKNXRXvw0gNXrLcwDs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=iVErVMbuK5TeoATB2oBw&ved=0CFMQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=north%20korea%20ict&f=false
5.
Do, A. M. (2013). As North Korea Opens Up Slowly, the
Populace Gets Online Peeks of the Outside World. Retrieved
October 9, 2014, from http://www.techinasia.com/north-korea-opens-slowly-populace-online-peeks-world/
6.
Lee, H. J. & Hwang, J. H. (2004).
ICT Development in North Korea: Changes and Challenges. Retrieved September
30, 2014, from www.itidjournal.org/index.php/itid/article/download/193/63
7.
McCurry, J. & Kollewe, J. (2011). China overtakes Japan as world's
second-largest economy. Retrieved October 4, 2014, from http://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/feb/14/china-second-largest-economy
8. Park, M. C. (2011). Digital Policy of Korea Issues and Challenges. Retrieved September
30, 2014, from http://www.eurocpr.org/data/2013/Park_Korea.pdf
9.
The World Factbook. (2012). Retrieved September 30, 2014,
from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kn.html
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