Millions of North Koreans are now using mobile phones, and not just to make phone calls.
Boy General is the North’s hottest new game release, a spin-off of a new TV animation series that is both beautifully produced and genuinely fun to watch – suggesting Pyongyang is trying to win back an audience drawn to the banned Chinese and South Korean dramas that flow across its borders.
The app became an immediate hit after its September release, particularly in Pyongyang, where there are more mobile phones and a population that generally has more money and time to spend on leisure activities. The even more popular televised animation series returned to the airwaves in August and runs on Sunday evenings.
In the game, players are prompted to go on missions to defeat the enemies of the young general Swoeme, which means “Iron Hammer”, a brave warrior-commander of the Koguryo kingdom that lasted for about 700 years and ruled most of the Korean Peninsula and the heart of Manchuria until its downfall in AD 668.
The concept and design of Boy General are simple, and its map-like scenery is reminiscent of the Minecraft game. Since there is nothing like the App Store in North Korea, the most common way of getting the game appears to be sharing it over Bluetooth.
Games are not new to North Korean mobile phone users.