The regime's control depends on its monopoly over information and ideas. Its escalating crackdowns on foreign media only confirm how much it can disrupt their control. As North Korean people learn about the outside world they become more resilient to the regime’s propaganda, more empowered to question their government, and more hungry for change.
It may start with a few individuals quietly questioning the system. But as that number grows, awareness spreads, attitudes shift, and pressure builds on the regime.
We partner with engineers and North Korean defectors to build lightweight, secure tools tailored to North Korean users. We prioritize software that can be copied and spread quickly.
We build security and anti-surveillance protections into every product. For a North Korean user, being caught with foreign media can mean interrogation, torture, or execution, so our tools empower people to protect themselves.
We work with trusted partners to get our technology across the border into North Korea. From there, it spreads through existing information sharing networks.
We work with North Korean defectors to curate and create content that resonates with people back home: stories of resettled North Korean refugees building new lives abroad, and a clear picture of what basic freedoms and rights look like.
Sharing information publicly means we are also sharing it with the North Korean regime. With the most sensitive details, lives could be put at risk. To ensure operational security and protect the safety of our partners and end users, we limit what we share publicly about our Information Access Programs.
North Korean refugees consistently identify access to uncensored information as one of the most important drivers of change inside the country. Throughout development, we do extensive pre-testing of our technology and content with resettled North Koreans who are the best possible proxies for our target audiences. Here’s some of their feedback:
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If I were in North Korea, I would stay up all night to view this content.
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This will be very powerful for changing North Korean people’s perceptions and mentality because there are so many different kinds of information without a particular agenda or message. If you try to persuade people [with a particular agenda] they will reject it. This can create more political change because it is not political itself.
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This will have a major impact on the people of North Korea [...] Right now, because of the new law punishing so-called ‘non-socialist behavior,’ people’s morale is very low. But if this program spreads inside North Korea, it will help people regain confidence.
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This would be incredibly useful to have. It seems like a program that’s really needed in North Korea. If this had existed when I was there, I think I would have used it. It could play a valuable role in meeting the needs of people in North Korea.
