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OVERTHROUGHNORTHKOREAWITHUSBDRIVES
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WIRED.com
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WordCount5979Ph79
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6On a cloudy, moonless night somewhere in
54included in the bag an HP laptop computer,
7northeastern China, three men creep through a
55cigarettes,liquor,andcloseto$1,000incash.
8standofJapaneseClethratrees.Theycarryno
56Themaninthehoodieslingsthebagofdigital
9flashlights,andtheskyissodarkthattheyhear
57contraband over his shoulder. Then he says
10the sound of the rushing Tumen River before
58goodbyeanddisappearsbackintotheworlds
11theyseeit:TheyvearrivedattheNorthKorean
59deepestblackholeofinformation.
12border.
60wasplannedandexecutedlastSeptemberbythe
13Earlierintheeveningatanearbyrestaurant,they
61NorthKoreaStrategyCenterandits46yearold
14treatedthelocalChinesepolicechiefandheadof
62founder, Kang Cholhwan. Over the past few
15theborderpatroltoablowoutfeastofmorethan
63years, Kangs organization has become the
1620 dishes, climaxing with a southern China
64largest inamovement ofpolitical groupswho
17delicacyacarpdeepfriedandservedalive,its
65routinelysmuggledataintoNorthKorea.NKSC
18mouthandgillsstillmoving.Followinganafter
66aloneannuallyinjectsaround3,000USBdrives
19mealsessionofpriceyChunghwacigarettesand
67filled withforeignmovies,music,and ebooks.
20shotsofMoutailiquor,theofficialsmadephone
68Kangs goal, as wildly optimistic as it may
21callstellingsubordinatestoabandontheirposts
69sound,isnothinglessthantheoverthrowofthe
22for several hours. After dozens of these bribe
70NorthKoreangovernment.Hebelievesthatthe
23dinners,theyhadbecomeroutine,practicallya
71Kimdynastysthreegenerationstrangleholdon
24traditionamongfriends;bynowthesmugglers
72the North Korean peopleand its draconian
25evenhadtheirownkeytotherustybikelock
73restrictiononalmostanyinformationaboutthe
26securingtheborderareasbarbedwirefence.
74world beyond its borderswill ultimately be
27Twohourslaterthetriosleader,amiddleaged
75broken not by drone strikes or caravans of
28North Korean defector named Jung Kwangil,
76Humveesbutbyagradual,guerrillainvasionof
29steps into the tall weeds of the riverbank. He
77thumb drives filled with bootleg episodes of
30pulls out a cheap laser pointer and flashes it
78FriendsandJuddApatowcomedies.
31acrossthewater.Thenhewaitsforaresponse:If
79KanglikenstheUSBstickstotheredpillfrom
32heseesanXslashedthroughtheairbyalaseron
80The Matrix: a mindaltering treatment that has
33theoppositebank,theoperationwillbecalled
81thepowertoshatteraworldofillusions.When
34off. Instead, hes answered with a red circle
82North Koreans watch Desperate Housewives,
35paintedthroughthedarkness.
83they see that Americans arent all warloving
36Soon after, a compact man dressed in only a
84imperialists, Kang says. Theyre just people
37hoodieandboxershortswadesoutofthewaist
85havingaffairsorwhatever.Theyseetheleisure,
38high water and onto the riverbank where Jung
86the freedom. They realize that this isnt the
39and his companions stand. Jung arranged the
87enemy; its what they want for themselves. It
40meetingearlierinthedayusingcodedlanguage
88cancels out everything theyve been told. And
41overwalkietalkies.Themenembraceandspeak
89whenthathappens,itstartsarevolutionintheir
42softlyforaminuteabouteachothershealth,the
90mind.
43priceof NorthKoreanmushrooms,and Jungs
91Ifirst meet Kanginaconferenceroom ofhis
44mother,whomhedleftbehindintheNorth10
92office on the ninth floor of a Seoul highrise.
45years ago. Then Jung hands the man a tightly
93Outside, a bored plainclothes policeman keeps
46wrapped plastic bag containing a trove of
94watch,partofa24/7securitydetailprovidedby
47precious blackmarket data: 200 Sandisk USB
95the South Korean government after Kang
48drives and 300 micro SD cards, each packed
96appeared on a top10 list of North Korean
49with16gigabytesofvideoslike
97defectorassassinationtargets.Kanganswersmy
50Lucy, Sonof God, 22Jump Street, andentire
98questionsinasoftvoiceandmaintainsalookof
51seasons of South Korean reality television
99calm bemusement. But several NKSC staffers
52shows,comedies,andsoapoperas.Tobribethe 100later tell me that his quiet demeanor masks a
53guards on the North Korean side, Jung has 101deep, lifelong anger directed at North Koreas

102dictatorship, which held him and his entire

103family in a prison camp for 10 years of his
104childhood. (Compared to some defectors Ive
105met, hes a little more pissed off, one staffer
106confides.)
107Itdoesnttakeadecadeinagulagtoseethat
108North Korea needs a revolution. Since the
109KoreanPeninsulasplitattheendofWorldWar
110II, seven decades of disastrous financial
111decisions, isolationist economics, and
112sociopathicmilitarythreatsagainsttherestofthe
113world have turned the country into what
114GeorgetownAsianstudiesprofessorandformer
115National Security Council adviser Victor Cha
116callssimplytheworstplaceonearth.Itsrecent
117historyisalitanyofdisaster:Despitehavinga
118strongereconomyandbetterinfrastructurethan
119SouthKoreain1945,itsGDPisnowafortieth
120thesizeofitssouthernneighbor.Only16percent
121of households have adequate access to food,
122according toa2012studybytheWorld Food
123Program, stunting growth in 28 percent of the
124population.Insomeareasofthecountry,upto
12540percentofchildrenunder5areaffected.The
126effectsarementalaswellasphysical.A2008
127studybytheNationalIntelligenceCouncilfound
128that a quarter of North Korean military
129conscripts are disqualified for cognitive
130disabilities.
131Thetotalitariangovernmentinheritedbyits32
132yearoldleader,KimJongun,punishesanyreal
133politicalresistancewithdeath.Andtheregimes
134mostpowerfultoolforcontrolremainsitsgrip
135on North Korean minds. The state propaganda
136systemindoctrinatesits25millioncitizensfrom
137birth,insistingthattheKimfamilyisinfallible
138andthatthecountryenjoysasuperiorstandardof
139living. In a ranking of 197 countries press
140freedom by research group Freedom House,
141NorthKoreaplaceslast.Itseesanyattemptto
142introducecompetingideas,eventhepossession
143of a radio capable of accessing foreign
144frequencies, as a threat to its power; these
145infractionsarepunishablebyexiletooneofits
146prisoncamps,whichholdasmanyas200,000
147people, according to Amnesty International.
148TheKimregimeneedsitsideology,Chasays.
149Withoutit,heargues,NorthKoreawouldface
150thesamethreatsaseverydictatorship,suchasan
151internalcouporapopularrevolt.Iftheygetto
152thepointwherealltheycandoispointgunsat
153people,theyllknowtheirsystemhasfailed.

154What I doiswhat Kim Jongunfears most,

155saysJung,thesmuggler.
156AgrowingmovementofNorthKoreandefector
157activist groups, including Kangs NKSC and
158others,likeNorthKoreaIntellectualsSolidarity
159andFightersforaFreeNorthKorea,viewsthat
160reliance on ideological control as a weakness:
161OutsidedataisnowpenetratingNorthKoreas
162bordersmore thaneverbefore. Onegroup has
163stashed USB drives in Chinese cargo trucks.
164Anotherhaspassedthemoverfromtouristboats
165that meetwithfishermenmidriver.AnNKSC
166operativeshowedmeavideoinwhichhecrawls
167under a border fence, walks into the Tumen
168River,andthrowstwotirestotheoppositebank.
169EachonewasfilledwithSouthKoreanChoco
170Pies,Chinesecigarettes,andUSBsticksloaded
171with movies like Snowpiercer,The Lives of
172Others , and Charlie Chaplins The Great
173Dictator.
174Even The Interviewthe Kim Jongun
175assassination comedy that the North Korean
176governmenttriedtokeepfrombeingreleasedby
177usingthreats,intimidation,and(accordingtothe
178FBI) a devastating hacking operation against
179Sony Pictureshas made its way into the
180country. Chinese traders trucks carried 20
181copiesofthefilmacrosstheborderthedayafter
182Christmas,justtwodaysafteritsonlinerelease.
183What I doiswhat Kim Jongunfears most,
184saysJung,thesmuggler,whoshowsmevideos
185andpicturesofhismissionswhileseatedinthe
186lobby of a hospital in Bucheon, South Korea.
187Jung,wearingamilitarystylecapandpajamas,
188istakingabreakfromrehabilitationtherapyfor
189kneeinjurieshesustainedwhilebeingtorturedin
190aNorthKoreanprison15yearsago.Forevery
191USBdriveIsendacross,thereareperhaps100
192NorthKoreanswhobegintoquestionwhythey
193livethisway.Whytheyvebeenputinajar.
194Eachactivistgrouphasitsowntactics:Fighters
195foraFreeNorthKorealoadsup35footballoons
196that float into the country and rain down
197pamphlets,USdollarbills,andUSBdrivesfull
198ofpoliticalmaterials.NorthKoreaIntellectuals
199Solidarity smuggles in USBs filled with short
200documentaries about the outside world created
201bythegroupsfounder,aformerNorthKorean
202computer scientist who used to help the
203governmentconfiscateillicitmedia.
204Kangs NKSC, with its pop cultural offerings,
205capitalizes on North Koreas flowering black
206markets. The groups smugglers inside the

207country are motivated by profit as much as

208politics: A USB stick loaded with contraband
209filmssellsformorethanamonthsfoodbudget
210formostmiddleclassNorthKoreanfamilies.A
211packofhundredsrepresentsasmallfortune.In
212North Korea a USB drive is like gold, one
213NKSCsmugglertellsme.
214ForKang,thatmakeseachofthosecovetedflash
215drivesaselfpropelledweaponinafreemarket
216informationinsurgency.Rightnow,perhaps30
217percentofthepopulationinNorthKoreaknows
218about the outside world, Kang says. If you
219reach50percent,thatsenoughpeopletostart
220makingdemands,tostartmakingchanges.
221And if that enlightened audience reaches
22280percent?Or90percent?Kangleansforward.
223Then theres no way the North Korean
224government,initscurrentform,couldcontinue
225toexist.
226
227Kang Cholhwan was 9 years old when his
228grandfather,ahighlevelgovernmentofficialand
229ethnicKoreanimmigrantfrom Japan,suddenly
230disappeared. It was the summer of 1977, and
231withinafewweeks,soldierscamefortherestof
232his family, summarily stating that Kangs
233grandfatherhadbeenconvictedofhightreason
234butgivingnodetails.Theentirethreegeneration
235familywouldimmediatelybesenttoareeduca
236tion camp. The government confiscated the
237familys house and nearly all its possessions,
238thoughthesoldierstookpityonthetearfulKang
239andallowedhimtocarryoutanaquariumofhis
240favoritetropicalfish.
241Soon after the familys arrival at the Yodok
242concentrationcampinthecountrysnortheastern
243mountains, the fish floated dead in their tank.
244Thefamilywouldspendthenextdecadeinone
245ofKimIlsungsmostnotoriousgulags.
246Kangs daily life alternated between school
247rotememorizationofcommunistpropaganda
248and slave labor in the camps cornfields,
249lumberyards,andgoldmines.Foratime,Kangs
250work detail included burying the corpses of
251prisoners who died daily from starvation or
252perished in mine caveins and dynamite
253accidents.
254Children who disobeyed even slightly were
255beaten.Adulttransgressorsspentdays,oreven
256months, in the sweatbox, a tiny windowless
257shack in which victims could only crouch on
258handsandknees.Sometimesprisoners,including
259Kang,wouldberequiredtowitnessexecutions.

260Onceheandotherinmateswereorderedtostone
261thehangingcorpsesofwouldbeescapees.The
262skin on the victims faces eventually came
263undoneandnothingremainedoftheirclothing
264but a few bloody shreds, Kang would later
265describeit.Ihadthestrangefeelingofbeing
266swallowedupinaworldwheretheearthandsky
267hadchangedplaces.
268Astheyearspassed,Kangbecamearesourceful
269survivor.Helearnedtoeatwildsalamandersina
270single swallow and catch rats with a lasso he
271designedoutofwire.Theirmeatsustainedhim
272and several family members on the verge of
273starvation through winters at subzero
274temperatures.
275WhenKangwas18,theguardsannouncedone
276daywithoutpreamblethathisfamilywouldbe
277released as a demonstration of leader Kim Il
278sungsgenerosity.ExceptKangsgrandfather
279he had been assigned to a different camp, his
280treason still unexplained. Kang never saw him
281again.
282In his postprison life as a deliveryman in the
283western county of Pyungsung, Kang harbored
284fewillusionsaboutthecorruptionoftheNorth
285Koreanregime.Butitwasntuntilaroundthree
286yearslaterthatheaccessedtheinformationthat
287crystallizedhiscontempt.Itcamefromapirate
288radio.
289AfriendgaveKangtworadioreceivers.Kang
290paidabribetoavoidregisteringonewithpolice,
291andhelearnedhowtodisassembleitscaseand
292removethefilamentthathardwiredittoofficial
293regime frequencies. He and his closest
294confidants would huddle under a blanketto
295muffle the sound from eavesdroppersand
296listen to Voice of America, Christian stations,
297and the Souths Korean Broadcasting System.
298At first I didnt believe it, he says. Then I
299started to believe but felt guilty for listening.
300Eventually,Icouldntstop.
301Undertheirblanket,theyrelearnedallofNorth
302Koreashistory,includingthefactthattheNorth,
303not the South, had started the Korean War.
304Beginningin1989,theyfollowedthebreakdown
305ofSovietEasternEuropeandtheexecutionof
306Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauescu, a close
307friendofKimIlsung.Theyheardthemusicof
308SimonandGarfunkelandMichaelJackson,even
309learning the lyrics and softly singing along.
310Listening to the radio gave us the words we
311needed to express our dissatisfaction, Kang
312would later write. Every program, each new

313discovery,helpedustearalittlefreerfromthe
314envelopingwebofdeception.
315Soonacontactinthelocalgovernmentwarned
316him:Oneofhiscompanionshadtoldthepolice
317aboutKangssecretradiosessions.Hewasunder
318surveillance and faced potential arrest and
319reassignment to a labor camp. Posing as a
320businessman, he bribed border guards on the
321Yalu River and escaped to Dalian, China, and
322finallytoSeoul.
323After his escape Kang wrote a memoir, The
324Aquariums of Pyongyang, originally published
325inFrenchin2000andayearlatertranslatedinto
326English. It was a revelation: the most detailed
327account yet of life in North Koreas gulags.
328Kang was asked to speak around the world,
329touring Ivy League schools and European
330conferences.PresidentGeorgeW.Bushinvited
331him to visit the White House, where they
332discussedhishomelandsgrowinghumanrights
333crisis.Itwasalwaysjustastatistichundreds
334of thousands of people in labor camps, says
335GeorgetownsCha,whoadvisedBushonNorth
336Korea.ButKangsbookputanameandaface
337andastorytotheseabuses.
338BackinSouthKorea,Kangsstoryhadnosuch
339impact. President Kim Daejung had won a
340Nobel PrizefortheSouthssocalledSunshine
341Policy of compromise with the North to
342reestablish diplomatic ties. Kangs story was
343seen as unfashionably antagonistic to the Kim
344regimeandlargelyignored.
345By 2005, Kang had given up hope that South
346Koreaortherestoftheworldwouldactagainst
347the North Korean government. Change, he
348decided, would have to come from within,
349throughthesamelifealteringeducationhehad
350received from his illegal radio. He flipped his
351strategy: Instead of working to tell the world
352aboutthehorrorsofNorthKorea,hewouldwork
353totellNorthKoreansabouttheworld.
354That year, a Christian radio station donated
3555,000portablewindupradios toKangsnewly
356formedorganization.Throughdefectorcontacts
357inChina,hesmuggledthem intohousesalong
358North Koreas Tumen River border. Guards
359cometothesehousestorestandbuycigarettes,
360Kangexplains.Wewouldgivethemtheselittle
361radios too. So all of these bored kids, during
362their patrols, could listen to foreign radio
363broadcastsatnight.
364With funding from private donors and
365governments it declines to name, NKSC has

366since grown to 15 paid staffers, including

367independentoperatorsalongtheChineseborder,
368each with their own contacts in North Korea.
369Kang hopes to soon expand smuggling
370operationsto10,000USBdrivesayear.
371Hes also looking at ways the American tech
372communitycouldadvanceNKSCsmission.The
373group is working with the Wikimedia
374Foundation to put a North Koreandialect
375version of Wikipedia on every flash drive it
376smuggles over. And in conjunction with the
377Human RightsFoundation,its beentalkingto
378SiliconValleytypesaboutbuildingnewtools
379everything from a small concealable satellite
380dish to steganographic videogames that hide
381illegal data. (The activists have considered
382deliveringUSBswithminiaturedrones,butthat
383optionremainsimpracticallyexpensive.)Butas
384his group gains momentum, Kang faces a
385personal dilemma: Several of his family
386membersremaininsideNorthKorea,including
387hisyoungersister,Miho.Despitecanvassinghis
388contacts there and filing a special request
389throughtheUnitedNationsforinformationabout
390Mihoswhereabouts,Kanghasntbeenableto
391findher.Shemayevenhavebeenreimprisoned,
392says Choi Yooncheol, NKSCs secondmost
393seniorstaffer.Mr.Kangknowsthatthemore
394activeheis,thecloserhegetstohisvision,the
395morehisfamilywillsuffer,Choisays.Itmust
396beincrediblydifficulttoknowthatwhatyoure
397doingcanhurtthepeopleyoulove.
398WhenIfirstaskKangabouthissister,hedenies
399anyconnectionbetweenhersafetyandhiswork.
400Perhapsinanefforttoprotecther,hearguesthat
401thetwoarenowestranged.
402Besides,hecoldlyinsists,hisownfamilyisno
403longer the issue. This is a government that
404doesntdeservetosurvive,hesays.Ifsomeone
405hastodestroyit,Illgladlybetheone.
406
407YeonmiParksfamilypaidaround3,000North
408KoreanwonforapackofDVDsthatcontaineda
409bootleg of Titanic. In the early 2000s, she
410remembers,thatwasthecostofseveralpounds
411ofriceinherhomecityofHyesanasignificant
412sacrifice in a starving country. But of all the
413tweengirlswhobecameobsessedwiththestar
414crossedromanceofJackandRose,Parkwasone
415of the very few who saw it as downright
416revolutionary.InNorthKoreatheyhadtaught
417usthatyoudiefortheregime.Inthismovieit
418waslike,whoa,hesdyingforagirlheloves,

419shesays.Ithought,howcananyonemakethis
420andnotbekilled?
421Titanic was hardly Parks only foreignvideo
422experience.HermotherhadsoldDVDs;someof
423Parks earliest memories are of waking to the
424grunts and shouts of her father watching
425American WWF wrestling. Park loved
426Cinderella,Snow White, Pretty Woman. The
427familywouldputitstapesanddiscsinaplastic
428bagandburyitbeneathapottedplanttohideit
429fromthepolice.
430Butofallthoseillegalencounterswithforeign
431culture,Titanicwassomehowthefilmthatmade
432Parkaskherselfquestionsaboutfreedomandthe
433outsideworld.Itmademefeellikesomething
434was off with our system, she says in fluent
435English, which she perfected by watching the
436entirerunofFriendsdozensoftimes.
437ParkescapedfromNorthKoreain2007.Nowa
43821yearoldactivistbasedinSeoul,shespartof
439whats known in Korea as the jangmadang
440sedae: the blackmarket generation. During a
441famineintheNorthinthemid1990s,theKim
442regimebegantotolerateillegaltradebecauseit
443was the only option to feed a starving
444population.Sincethen,blackmarketcommerce
445has been nearly impossible to stamp out. And
446some of the hottest commoditiesparticularly
447for young people who dont even remember a
448North Korea before that underground trade
449existedhave been foreign music and movies,
450along with the Chinesemade gadgets to play
451them.
452A2010studybytheUSBroadcastingBoardof
453Governors found that 74 percent of North
454KoreanshaveaccesstoaTVand46percentcan
455accessaDVDplayer.Parksaysthatnearlyallof
456herfriendsinHyesanhadseenaforeignfilmor
457TVshow.Asaresult,hergenerationisthefirst
458tohavetosquaretheKimregimespropaganda
459with a keyhole view of the outside world. A
460group called Liberty in North Korea, which
461workswithyoungdefectorrefugees,findsthat
462manynolongerbelieveincentraltenetsofNorth
463Koreaspoliticalideology,suchasthecountrys
464superiorstandardoflivingorthegodlikepowers
465oftheKimfamily.Eventheregimeislettingthat
466secondillusionslide,admittingthatKimJongun
467hashealthissueshardlythenormforheavenly
468beings.
469InNorthKorea,theytaughtusthatyoudiefor
470theregime,saysactivistYeonmiPark.
471

472Thanks to the flourishing black market, the

473jangmadang generations technology has
474advancedwellbeyondradiosandDVDs.Despite
475North Koreas nearcomplete lack of Internet
476access,therearecloseto3.5millionPCsinthe
477countryand5milliontablets,accordingtoNorth
478Korea Intellectuals Solidarity. But perhaps the
479most important piece of hardware in North
480Korea today is whats known as a notela
481small,portablevideoplayersoldfor$60to$100
482andcapableofhandlingmultipleformats.Ithas
483a screen, a rechargeable battery to deal with
484frequentblackouts,andcrucially,USBandSD
485cardports.InasurprisemoveinDecember,the
486NorthKoreangovernmentlegalizedthedevices,
487perhaps as part of a bid to modernize its
488propaganda machine, according to Seoulbased
489newsoutletDailyNK.Theresultismillionsof
490ready customers for the USB sticks smuggled
491acrosstheChineseborder.
492In one of North Koreas bustling markets, a
493buyer might quietly ask for something fun,
494meaning foreign, or from the village below,
495referring to South Korea. The seller may lead
496himorhertoaprivateplace,oftensomeones
497home,beforeturningoverthegoods.Theforeign
498dataisthenconsumedonanotelamongsmall,
499discreetgroupsofmostlyyoungpeople,friends
500whoenterintoanunspokenpactofbreakingthe
501lawtogethersothatnoonecanratoutanyone
502else.
503The Kim regime has responded by cracking
504down. In late 2013 the government reportedly
505executed80peopleacrosssevencitiesinasingle
506day, many for trafficking in illegal media. In
507Februarylastyear,theWorkersPartyofKorea
508helditslargesteverconferenceofpropagandists.
509Kim Jongun himself delivered an address
510calling for the party to take the initiative in
511launching operations to make the imperialist
512moves for ideological and cultural infiltration
513endinsmokeandtosetupmosquitonetswith
514twoorthreelayerstopreventcapitalistideology,
515which the enemy is persistently attempting to
516spread,frominfiltratingacrossourborder.
517ButstampingoutillegalmediainNorthKorea
518has become an intractable problem for the
519government,accordingtoSokeelPark,director
520of research and strategy for Liberty in North
521Korea.Hecomparesittothestubborndemand
522forillegal drugsintheUS.Youcouldcall it
523Kim Jonguns War on Information, he says.
524But just likeawarondrugsyoucantryto

525slow it down, increase the risks, increase the

526punishments, put more people in prison. The
527bribe costs will go up, but its still going to
528happen.
529By his third year working for Kim Jongils
530thoughtpolice,KimHeungkwangsayshecould
531almostsensethepresenceofillegaldata.
532Goingdoortodoorwiththetaskforceassigned
533to search out digital contraband in citizens
534homes,heremembersfindingforbiddenDVDs
535andplayershiddenunderbedsandinbookswith
536pagescutawaytocreatehiddencompartments.
537On one occasion he caught a group of video
538watchers who had, ina panic, hidden together
539underablanketinacloset.Earlyonhefound
540that when he knocked on doors, the guilty
541watcherswouldhurriedlyhidetheirDVDs.So
542he learned to turn off the power to the entire
543buildingbeforemakinghishousecalls,trapping
544discsintheirplayers.Ifelttheywerewatching
545rotten,capitalistmaterialandruiningthejuche
546mentality, Kim says, referring to the North
547Korean communist ideology. The short,
548bespectacled man, sitting in his austere Seoul
549office,smileswearilyandcrosseshislegswitha
550professorial air. I felt justified to send these
551criminalsaway.
552TheDVDownerswouldcryandplead.Theyd
553begontheirkneesandpullonthesleevesofhis
554uniform, claiming they had just found the
555offendingmedialyinginthestreet.Sometimes
556heacceptedbribesandturnedablindeye.(You
557couldfeeltheoutsideoftheenvelopebetween
558your fingers and tell whether it was a lot of
559money, he remembers.) But most of the data
560criminals he caught, he reported. Many were
561sentencedtomonthsoryearsinprisoncamps.
562Kimhadearnedmembershipintheallpowerful
563CommunistPartythroughyearsofworkhelping
564to create North Koreas own computers,
565including the Paektusan minicomputer, named
566forthemountainwhereKimJongilwassaidto
567havebeenborn.Asacomputerscienceprofessor
568at Hamhung University, he had even taught
569students who would go on to work for North
570Koreas cyberwarfare brigade, Unit 121the
571group suspected of the Sony breachin the
572basicsofnetworkingandoperationsystems.
573Afterblackmarketsbegantospread,Kimwas
574reassigned in 2000 to a military division that
575went doortodoor to search for contraband
576media.Ilovedit,hesays.Ihadthepowerto

577gointohomesandtakethesematerialsandno
578onecouldevenquestionme.
579OneoftheperksofKimsposition,ofcourse,
580was nearly infinite access to the media he
581confiscated.Hebegantowatchthecontraband
582films and TV shows and even loaned out his
583collection to friends, who rewarded him with
584giftslikealcoholandmeat.
585In2002,KimwasgivenaPC,partofwhathe
586describes as a secret aid shipment from South
587Korea.Itsharddrivehadbeenwiped.Butusing
588forensic recovery software, Kim was able to
589reassemble its deleted contents. They included
590400files:films,TVshows,and,mostimportant
591to his intellectual sensibilities, ebooks. You
592cant imagine how excited I was, he says. I
593hadhitagoldmine.
594These were what finally transformed Kims
595thinking.HeremembersreadingaDaleCarnegie
596selfhelp book and Alvin Tofflers The Third
597Wave.Butmostinfluentialwasahistorybook
598about Middle Eastern dictators, including the
599stories of Saddam Hussein and Muammar
600Gaddafi,allfriendsoftheKimregime.Reading
601aboutthecrimeshappeninginthesecountries,I
602began to realize that those crimes were
603happeninginmycountrytoo,Kimsays.That
604wasthestartingpointofthelogicshiftinginmy
605brain. I began to understand the nature of
606dictatorship.
607Eventhen,Kimcontinuedbustingviewersofthe
608sameforeignmediahenowregularlywatched.I
609sentalotofpeopleaway,butthekarmasoon
610camebacktome,hesays.
611In2003hewasarrestedandtakentoadetention
612center; hed been ratted out by one of the
613comrades with whom hed shared his secret
614store.Hesaysthepolicetorturedhimforaweek,
615forcing him to write hundreds of pages of
616confessionunderhotlightsandpreventinghim
617from sleeping by jabbing his forehead with a
618needle. When they found that he had only
619distributed materials to a few friends, he was
620givenalenientsentence:ayearatareeduca
621tionfarm40milesoutsideHamhung.Igrewto
622literallyhatethelanditself,hesays.Icouldnt
623understand why watching a few foreign films
624shouldcostmeayearofmylife.
625After the year of drudgery, Kim was released
626andmanagedtobribeaborderguardtohelphim
627escapeacrosstheTumen.Hemadehiswayfrom
628China to Seoul, where he set up North Korea
629IntellectualsSolidarity.

630KimsstrategyismuchlikeKangswithNKSC,
631usingChinesetradersandsmugglercontacts.But
632Kim has only a handful of fulltime staffers.
633InsteadofaskinghisNorthKoreancontactsto
634wadeacrosstheTumen,hedescribesthrowinga
635rocktiedtotheendofaropeacrosstheriver.
636Smugglersontheotherside,hesays,useitto
637pull across a plasticwrapped bucket of USB
638drives. (Hes also experimenting with a three
639man water balloon slingshot that can catapult
640contrabandhundredsoffeetpastguards.)
641Unlikethepopculturalprogrammingproffered
642by Kangs group, the content on Kims drives
643includesmostlyshorteducationaldocumentaries
644createdbyandstarringKimhimself.Heexplains
645to North Koreans what democracy is, for
646instance,orsimplyshowsthemwhatabookstore
647ortheInternetlookslike.WhenaNorthKorean
648watchesanactionmoviewithachasesceneina
649grocerystore,theywanttoslowitdowntosee
650whatsontheshelves,hesays.Ishowthem
651what they want to seewhat I wanted to see
652whenIwasthere.
653Kim has also developed what he calls stealth
654USBdrives,designedtoavoiddetection.Toany
655casualobserver,thedriveseemsempty.Butits
656contents reappear with a simple trigger, the
657detailsofwhichKimaskedthatInotpublicize.
658Noteventhebuyerwouldnecessarilyknowthat
659theUSBcontainedillegaleducationalmaterials,
660he says. Instead, the files would simply
661materialize one day, a spontaneous gift Kim
662hopeswillbeaslifechangingastheharddrive
663whosewondrouscontentsheoncediscovered.
664Kimdeniesthathisworktodayisrepentancefor
665past sins as a member of Kim Jongils data
666gestapo.Hedescribesthezealotofthoseyearsas
667almostadifferentperson.ButwhenIaskifhe
668stillfeelsguiltfortheliveshewrecked,hispolite
669academicssmilefinallycracks.Hemassageshis
670templeswithonehand.
671Once,hesays,hefoundacollectionofforeign
672DVDsinthehomeofasinglemotherandher
673twomiddleschoolagedsons.Hecouldtell by
674theteenorientedcontentthat theybelongedto
675the kids. The mother insisted the DVDs were
676hers, sacrificing herself for her children. Kim
677sayshewasinclinedtolethergo,butahardline
678colleagueinsistedshebereported,condemning
679hertoaprisoncamp.
680Iwantedtoforgiveher,Kimsays.Hepauses.
681Istillthinkaboutthatfamilysometimes.

682OnaFridaynightinanNKSCconferenceroom,
683ayoungNorthKoreandefectorwhohasasked
684metocallherYaeuniswatchingacopyofthe
685teencomedySuperbad.Shewouldlaterexplain
686tomethatshehadneverseenamovieonthat
687scaleoffilthinessbefore,andshedoesnthide
688herreaction;shespendsmostofthe113minute
689barrageofadolescentsexualangstanddickjokes
690coveringherfacewiththebacksofherhands,as
691iftocooloffherburningcheeks.
692Themoviewassupposedtobescreenedforone
693of the defector focus groups that NKSC
694assemblestolearnhowNorthKoreansreactto
695differenttypesofmedia,thebettertosmugglein
696thematerialswiththemostimpact.Butonthis
697occasion,alltheNorthKoreansbutYaeunare
698busyorhavecanceledatthelastminute.So,like
699some kind of Clockwork Orange parody, the
700focus group has been reduced to one North
701Korean,watchedbyme,anNKSCstaffer,and
702volunteers as she reacts to Jonah Hill and
703MichaelCeratryingveryhardtogetlaid.
704Whenthemoviefinishes,Yaeunstartsbylisting
705the most astonishing elements from a North
706Koreanperspective:thefranksextalk,constant
707genitalia references, underage drinking, cops
708crashingtheircar,teenageMcLovinshootinga
709gun.Allwouldbeseenasindescribablyalien,
710shesays.Evenwatchingitnow,Ifinditvulgar
711andshocking,shesays.IfIwerestillinNorth
712Korea,itwouldblowmymind.
713SomaybeNKSCshouldskipthisone,suggests
714Rocky Kim, the staffer who organized the
715screening. Maybe a documentary would be
716better?heasks.Notatall.Iwouldvotetosend
717it,Yaeunsayswithouthesitation.Itwillblow
718their minds, but its not like theyll actually
719explode.Theyllrecover.
720Predicting North Koreans reactions to foreign
721mediaisnteasy.TheInterview,forallthefuror
722itelicitedfromtheKimregime,gotanequally
723negativereactionfromNorthKoreanswhosaw
724itontheothersideoftheborder.Thesmuggler
725JungKwangilsayscontactshespoketointhe
726country were offended by its low production
727values and mockery of North Korean culture.
728Theythoughtitwaspoorlymadeonpurposeto
729mockNorthKorea,butIexplaineditwasjusta
730badmovie,hesays.TheypreferTheHunger
731Games.
732OtherhighprofiletacticsbytheNorthKorean
733freeinformation movement have backfired in
734theirownways:AballoonlaunchbyFightersfor

735a Free North Korea in October prompted the

736North Korean military to fire antiaircraft
737machinegunsoverabordervillage.Someofits
738balloons, meanwhile, end up stuck in the
739mountains, blown out to sea, or even back in
740South Korea. The pamphlets they include,
741accordingtosomeactivists,criticizetheregime
742toodirectlyandaredismissedbyNorthKoreans
743asjustanotherformofpropaganda.
744NKSC is more cautious about its content.
745UltimatelythegroupdecidedthatSuperbadwas
746toorisqufortheNorth;somuchfordickjokes
747defeatingdictators.
748Buttheresaquestionthatpersistedthroughout
749my conversations with the groups: How does
750NorthKoreagetfromaninformationrevolution
751to an actual peopleinthestreetsandtoppled
752statuesrevolution?
753Iposethat questiontoKangCholhwanwhile
754we sit in his office one freezing, snowy
755afternoon, my last day in Korea. He admits
756theresnotasimpleanswer,butheoffersafew
757scenarios he considers plausible: The
758government, for instance, could sense the
759disconnect between its propaganda and the
760peoplesforeignmediaeducationandlaunchits
761ownreforms, the kindofgradual openingthat
762took place in Russia and China. Or a
763disillusionedpopulacecouldbegindefectingen
764masse,forcingabordercontrolcrisis.Orsome
765spark,liketheselfimmolationofTunisianstreet
766vendor Mohammed Bouazizi, could coalesce
767disillusionedNorthKoreansintotheirownArab
768Spring,afullscalegrassrootsuprising.
769ButthenKangsurprisesmebyadmittingthatall
770thosescenariosareunlikely:TheKimregimeis
771too blind and stubborn to initiate its own
772reforms,hesays,anditstotalitariangripmaybe
773tootightforabottomuprevolution.Heputshis

774highest hopes instead in another scenario: that

775NKSCs foreign heresy could penetrate the
776government and militarys middle ranks and
777even their elite, eroding the ideology of the
778CommunistPartyitselfandfracturingKimJong
779unspowerbasefromwithin.
780A minute later, however, Kang suddenly flips
781back to his earlier optimism: He predicts that,
782thanksinparttohisinformationstrategy,North
783Koreas dictatorship will end within a decade.
784Theyre already cracking, he says. In less
785than 10 years, Ill be able tofreely go inand
786out.
787That nakedly idealistic statement, beyond its
788tinge of wishful thinking, seems to reveal
789somethingnewabouthowKangseeshisgoal.In
790spite of all his childhood horrors, he wants to
791transformNorthKoreanotsimplyintoanation
792thatwilllethiscountrymengofree,butonethat
793willlethimbackin:Hewantstogohomeagain.
794And whether his smuggling tactics succeed or
795fail,hellcontinuetosendhisUSBthumbdrives
796intoNorthKorea,likeofferingstoamuteidol,
797becauseitsthebestplanhesgot.Ihaveno
798direct power against the North Korean
799government, he admits unprompted, his face
800blank.
801Outside the window, its getting dark and the
802snowisstillfalling.Apolarvortexhaspushed
803Siberian air southward, bringing winter winds
804down the Korean Peninsula earlier than most
805years.AndascoldasitisinSeoul,itsfarcolder
806150milesnorth,intheprisoncampswhereKang
807spenthischildhoodandwherehissistermaystill
808betoday.Thisisthebestwaytheonlyway
809for meto open North Korea, Kang finally
810says.Everydayuntilthenisadelaytoseeing
811myfamilyagain.

812