Apparently North Korea Loves ‘Grand Theft Auto’ Among Other Video Games


Photo by Sputnik International

Ahh, video games, one of the many things which alienated millennials from baby boomers. They are the source of all our body ailments and social impairments, at least according to “old” people. However, there is no longer denying the fact that they are dominating the entertainment industry, they even managed to invade North Korea, something Trump wanted to do but couldn’t.

Anyway, according to a 14-year-old North Korean defector with the pseudonym Jeong Hyung-min, a lot of North Koreans are actually fond of controversial Western games, namely “Grand Theft Auto (GTA) V.” You might be wondering: how could a game that is even barely accepted in the West get through the cultural censorship of North Korea?

Jeong claimed that they had the ingenious plan of smuggling the games through USB sticks. Apparently, the smugglers also had to rename the file extensions of the video game names in the folders for added security. The smuggled games were also not limited to just “GTA V” but other big and popular titles as well such as the “FIFA” games.

Photo by Daily Star

Other forms of Western entertainment such as movies and even South Korean dramas are also being smuggled. However, Jeong stated that gamers in North Korea are not too worried about getting caught playing Western games since their authorities were focused on smuggled movies and TV shows. Also, yes, they have computers powerful enough for games like “GTA V” according to another defector since the North Korean parents consider computers as sound educational investments for their children.

As for who is responsible for supplying the smuggled entertainment, rumors are, they either come from China or South Korea. Don’t expect to encounter some North Koreans in online games though, as they have no public internet there that connects to the rest of the world.

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Kokou Adzo

Kokou Adzo is a seasoned professional with a strong background in growth strategies and editorial responsibilities. Kokou has been instrumental in driving companies' expansion and fortifying their market presence. His academic credentials underscore his expertise; having studied Communication at the Università degli Studi di Siena (Italy), he later honed his skills in growth hacking at the Growth Tribe Academy (Amsterdam).

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