At a recent event held by ISFINK (International Solidarity for Freedom of Information in North Korea) Daily NK released a video of exclusive footage recorded by a source in North Korea showing how residents in the country access foreign media.

The recordings show a conversation between a North Korean man and a woman bargaining over prices to rent a North Korean-style video room (modified section of a private home). While there have been reports in the past of foreign films being rented on CDs and USBs, this marks the first time that video rooms operating within the country have been documented.

In the footage, the man and woman talk about watching videos. A man, who appears to be a client, requests a video rental and the woman (presumed to be the vendor) asks for 500 KPW. Considering that the price of 1 kg of rice is between 5000~5300 KPW in North Hamgyong Province, the rental fee is relatively inexpensive and therefore relatively accessible to poorer demographics.

It has been reported that 5000 KPW (worth 1 kg of rice) can be easily earned if one has a private house to rent out for such activities. An increasing number of citizens are finding business of this nature attractive, as they can quickly make enough money to feed a family of four.

Another interesting aspect is the appearance of a notetel (portable multimedia player) in the media room. In the video footage, two North Korean residents who appear to be a mother and her son are watching a foreign movie on the notetel. Although it seems somewhat uncomfortable as they are required to sit in close proximity to the device due to the size of the screen, they seem to be making the most of the occasion and are eating snacks while watching the movie.

The average North Korean citizen is strictly prohibited from viewing foreign media. To do so, they must avoid surveillance by the authorities and if caught, can expect to be sent to a re-education camp or receive other draconian forms of punishment.

Daily NK’s source noted that in order to watch foreign movies in video rooms, people are required to show their identification cards. By examining such ID cards, the owners can distinguish law enforcement agents from ordinary people and determine whether it is safe to inform the client that there are foreign films on the premises.

“The owners play a children’s movie instead if State Security Department or Ministry of People’s Security agents pay a visit, as they cannot be asked to leave,” the source explained.

The video also features former Pyongyang resident Choi Seong Guk (currently a webtoon artist) who watched South Korean content through media devices including notetel while in North Korea. “When I first heard it, it gave me the chills from the head down. That’s how I felt. Outside information is not like any other information. It makes you ask questions about your life,” he said.

The video also features a telephone conversation between a Daily NK reporter and a North Korean resident in South Pyongan Province, discussing South Korean radio broadcasts in the region. When asked, “How do you get outside news?” the source responds, “I usually listen to South Korean radio broadcasting. I believe almost everyone is doing the same.”

Daily NK also recorded and released testimony detailing how a North Korean worker dispatched to a foreign country was able to acquire external information on the internet through his smartphone. According to his statement, which reflects separate information collated by Daily NK in its special coverage of North Korean laborers overseas , dispatched workers are known to be accessing South Korean radio broadcasts via smartphones, specifically seeking out news on North Korea from international sources. Although the North Korean authorities previously attempted to crack down on mobile phone usage due to their ability to access outside information, they are now implicitly permitting their usage.

In the released video, the defector who was previously a dispatched worker says that for dispatched workers in foreign countries, every piece of information on our smartphones is new. It provides an opportunity to learn that South Korean society is not like what the regime’s propaganda tells them during the internal lectures.

In the full interview with Daily NK, he added, “The more you listen to outside news, the more you become mistrustful. Now almost everyone knows what is true and what is false.”