Ethereum Blockchain Being Used to Issue North Korean Visas

From March 24, 2019, people wishing to visit North Korea may do so by purchasing ERC-721 visas issued on the Ethereum blockchain by a North Korean dissident group.

Future Entry

Besides the predominantly commercial use of blockchain, there have been a handful of other less-popular social aspects of its application.

One example includes using blockchain technology to navigate tyrannical governments as can be seen in protesters uploading their accounts of sexual harassment to avoid government censorship in China. Now, dissidents of North Korea are offering Ethereum-based visas to the country.

Emerging Details

The dissident group in question is called the Cheollima Civil Defence (CCD). They will be the ones doling out the blockchain visa once CCD has liberated the country. North Korea, which is allegedly storing up millions in bitcoin, is currently under the rule of dictator Kim Jong Un.

The website of the CCD advertises their “limited issuance of 200,000 anonymous blockchain visas to visit Free Joseon (previously North Korea) upon liberation.”

The visas being given out are in the form of non-fungible ERC-721 tokens that are called G-VISA and are issued on the Ethereum blockchain. For now, the price of the first 1,000 visas is one ether token.

The CCD will begin issuing visas on March 24, 2019, and all visas will be valid until the year 2029. However, each visa entitles its holder to visit the country up to 45 days at most, but people can buy multiple visas and enjoy multiple trips.

As the visas are issued, they will have an incremental ID Number that reflects the order in which they were issued, meaning the number cannot be forged. While this is an interesting concept, the CCD has made it clear that the visas are for visiting the future Free Joseon and are not to be used for other purposes.

“Ownership of one or more G-VISAs should be considered a contribution to the movement and should not be used for speculative or fiduciary purposes,” their website says.

Besides the CDD themselves, various ERC-721 marketplaces will likely have preferred issuance IDs, and the site recommends looking there.

While various forms of identification have been issued through blockchain before, the idea of visas being issued in the same manner is a somewhat new and interesting concept.