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Friday fun: Juche anti-virus and Konglish

A valued reader sends in this great photo taken in Pyongyang back in the early 2000s:

Click image for larger version

The picture is of a computer in Pyongyang running a North Korean anti-virus program.  The Program is called KJAV (Korea Juche-Oriented Anti-Virus). The use of English in the software tells me that this product was intended for export rather than for domestic use, but who knows, there could be a few computers in the DPRK running KJAV. I have yet to read any publications by the “Three Stars of Paektu” (or do we have four now?) on the role that Juche ideology plays in the development of anti-virus software, but I am sure there is a connection…somewhere.

And I also received this older example of North Korean “Konglish”:

The poster is for the 13th Annual World Festival of Youth and Students which took place in Pyongyang back in 1989. The caption of the poster reads “How the forever night of Pyongyang it is!”

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 29th, 2012 at 1:10 am and is filed under Computing/IT. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

  • ibisbill

    I’m told the Korean in the bottom poster sounds almost as strange to a South Korean as the Konglish. It means “Nights in Pyongyang last forever” [because you’re having such a good time], though some people may say nights in PY are endless for other reasons.

  • 阿江

    About the KJAV, I wonder if they have a similar business model as Kapersky, in which they program viruses, releasing out into the world, and then creating a fix (maybe…)  One thing for certain: Job security!

  • Themike86

    Is that really a computer in Pyongyang? I’m just looking at some of the desktop icons… MSN Messenger, really? In North Korea? I think not, and I especially think not if the picture is years old. Or unless it was a laptop someone brought in with them and somehow managed to acquire KJAV?

    • Guest

       Dont forget the pack of Marlboros in the background. They don’t seem like something that would be common in the DPRK, although it wouldn’t surprise me if residents there were rather fond of them.

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