Kwangmyong (network)

Kwangmyong
A computer room with access to Kwangmyong at the Grand People's Study House in Pyongyang
Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl
광명
Hancha
光明
Revised Romanizationgwangmyeong
McCune–Reischauerkwang-myŏng
IPA[kwa̠ŋ.mjʌ̹ŋ]

Kwangmyong (광명 lit. 'Bright Light')[1][2] is a North Korean national intranet service[3] opened in the early 2000s. The Kwangmyong intranet system stands in contrast to the global Internet in North Korea, which is available to fewer people in the country.[4]

The network uses domain names under the .kp top level domain that are not usually accessible from the global Internet.[5] As of 2016, the network uses IPv4 addresses reserved for private networks in the 10.0.0.0/8 range, also known as 24-bit block as defined in RFC 1918.[5] North Koreans often find it more convenient to access sites by their IP address rather than by domain name using Latin characters.[5] Like the global Internet, the network hosts content accessible with web browsers, and provides an internal web search engine. It also provides email services and news groups.[6][7][8] The intranet is managed by the Korea Computer Center.[9][10]

  1. ^ Warf, Barney (22 November 2016). e-Government in Asia:Origins, Politics, Impacts, Geographies. Chandos Publishing. ISBN 9780081008997. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2021 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Idrc (7 January 2008). Digital Review of Asia Pacific 2007/2008. IDRC. ISBN 9780761936749. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2021 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Andrew Jacobs (January 10, 2013). "Google Chief Urges North Korea to Embrace Web". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  4. ^ Talmadge, Eric (2015-08-26). "North Korea's new airport terminal has an Internet room, but can you use it?". USA Today. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2021-08-18. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
  5. ^ a b c Mäkeläinen, Mika (14 May 2016). "Yle Pohjois-Koreassa: Kurkista suljetun maan omaan tietoverkkoon" [Yle in North Korea: Peek into the Network of the Closed Country] (in Finnish). Yle. Archived from the original on 14 May 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  6. ^ Duffley, Robert (2011). "Information Technology and Control in the DPRK". Cornell International Affairs Review. 5 (1). doi:10.37513/ciar.v5i1.416. Archived from the original on 2023-02-01. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
  7. ^ Will Scott (29 December 2014). "Computer Science in the DPRK [31c3]". media.ccc.de. Chaos Computer Club. Archived from the original on 24 November 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  8. ^ Grothaus, Michael (2014-09-24). "What It's Like To Use North Korea's Internet". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 2016-03-28. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  9. ^ Brockman-Hawe, Benjamin (2007). "Using Internet "Borders" to Coerce or Punish: The DPRK as an Example of the Potential Utility of Internet Sanctions" (PDF). Boston University International Law Journal. 25 (163): 177–178. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-11-13. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
  10. ^ Cho, Joohee; Park, Cho Long (9 January 2013). "North Korea's Kim Jong Un Hopes Google's Luster Rubs Off on Him". ABC News. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.