ID :
82093
Mon, 09/28/2009 - 11:46
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/82093
The shortlink copeid
N. Korean authorities probing student's download of S. Korean blockbuster: defector
SEOUL, Sept. 28 (Yonhap) -- A North Korean college student was recently arrested
after watching a bootleg file of South Korean blockbuster "Haeundae" on his
computer, leading the country's authorities to strengthen inspection to prevent
further spreading of the movie among its people, an organization of North Korean
defectors said Monday.
An illegal copy of the disaster flick, which drew more than 10 million viewers in
the South as the fifth local movie to reach the milestone, was first found in a
computer at a Pyongyang university earlier this month, triggering an extensive
state probe, the North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity said in a news letter
posted on its Web site.
The report quoted a "correspondent" in the North.
North Korea imposes strict censorship on cultural materials and movies from
overseas are widely prohibited.
Seoul police recently took three people into custody on charges of digital piracy
after a copy of the big-budget movie was uploaded onto a South Korean
file-sharing site last month. The file of the movie, sold to 24 countries
including China and the United States, was downloaded hundreds of thousands of
times within minutes, police had said.
"The arrested student downloaded the file onto a college computer and was caught
by inspectors while watching it with a few of his dorm friends on Sept. 5," the
news letter said, adding the student first downloaded the file at a relative's
house in North Hamkyong Province.
"According to the correspondent, it costs about 5,000 won to download a copy of
'Haeundae,'" the news letter added. A regular North Korean laborer receives an
average monthly wage of about 3,000 won (US$2.50).
The inspection revealed tens of thousands of people in North Korea, with a
population of 24 million, have secretly seen films made in South Korea and other
countries, according to the defectors' group.
The digital copy of "Haeundae," about a fictional tsunami that hits a popular
beach in the Korean port city of Busan, was first leaked by an audio technician,
according to Seoul police, marking one of many digital theft cases in the
country.
hayney@yna.co.kr
(END)
after watching a bootleg file of South Korean blockbuster "Haeundae" on his
computer, leading the country's authorities to strengthen inspection to prevent
further spreading of the movie among its people, an organization of North Korean
defectors said Monday.
An illegal copy of the disaster flick, which drew more than 10 million viewers in
the South as the fifth local movie to reach the milestone, was first found in a
computer at a Pyongyang university earlier this month, triggering an extensive
state probe, the North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity said in a news letter
posted on its Web site.
The report quoted a "correspondent" in the North.
North Korea imposes strict censorship on cultural materials and movies from
overseas are widely prohibited.
Seoul police recently took three people into custody on charges of digital piracy
after a copy of the big-budget movie was uploaded onto a South Korean
file-sharing site last month. The file of the movie, sold to 24 countries
including China and the United States, was downloaded hundreds of thousands of
times within minutes, police had said.
"The arrested student downloaded the file onto a college computer and was caught
by inspectors while watching it with a few of his dorm friends on Sept. 5," the
news letter said, adding the student first downloaded the file at a relative's
house in North Hamkyong Province.
"According to the correspondent, it costs about 5,000 won to download a copy of
'Haeundae,'" the news letter added. A regular North Korean laborer receives an
average monthly wage of about 3,000 won (US$2.50).
The inspection revealed tens of thousands of people in North Korea, with a
population of 24 million, have secretly seen films made in South Korea and other
countries, according to the defectors' group.
The digital copy of "Haeundae," about a fictional tsunami that hits a popular
beach in the Korean port city of Busan, was first leaked by an audio technician,
according to Seoul police, marking one of many digital theft cases in the
country.
hayney@yna.co.kr
(END)
