Manbang () are a series of state-owned

digital media player A digital media player (also sometimes known as a streaming device or streaming box) is a type of consumer electronics device designed for the storage, playback, or viewing of digital media content. They are typically designed to be integra ...

s issued by

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

Korean Central Broadcasting Committee The Radio and Television Broadcasting Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (), also known as the Korean Central Broadcasting Committee and Korean Central Broadcasting (), is a state-owned broadcaster of North Korea. The commi ...

, providing

over-the-top content An over-the-top (OTT) media service is a media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms: the types of companies that traditionally act as controllers or distributor ...

in the form of channels. Created in response to streaming platforms like

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

and

Roku Roku ( ) is a brand of hardware digital media players manufactured by American company Roku, Inc. They offer access to streaming media content from online services. The first Roku model, developed in collaboration with Netflix, was introduced ...

in the west, and the popularity of Chinese-made

Notel The Notel, also called NoteTel (a portmanteau of "notebook" and "television"), is a brand of portable media player made in China which is popular in North Korea. The device has USB and SD ports, can play DVDs and EVDs ( enhanced versatile discs, wh ...

players in North Korea, the name comes from the Korean word 만방 (''manbang'') meaning "everywhere" or "every direction", conveying the on-demand nature of the service. Due to North Korea's isolationism, users connect to the service not by internet but via the state-controlled intranet using the

IPTV Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded med ...

protocol.

Content

In addition to on-demand video, Manbang is reported to offer viewers the ability to watch live streams of at least 5 channels: Users may also find political information regarding the Supreme Leader and

Juche ''Juche'' ( ; ), officially the ''Juche'' idea (), is the state ideology of North Korea and the official ideology of the Workers' Party of Korea. North Korean sources attribute its conceptualization to Kim Il-sung, the country's founder and f ...

ideology, and read articles from the newspaper ''

Rodong Sinmun ''Rodong Sinmun'' (; ) is a North Korean newspaper that serves as the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. It was first published on November 1, 1945, as ''Chŏngro'' (), serving as a communication channel ...

'' and the

Korean Central News Agency The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) is the state news agency of North Korea. The agency portrays the views of the North Korean government for both domestic and foreign consumption. It was established on December 5, 1946 and now features onli ...

(KCNA). Worker education services for North Korean enterprises are also available via the Manbang service.

Availability

According to

Korean Central Television Korean Central Television (KCTV; ) is a television service operated by the Korean Central Broadcasting Committee, a state-owned broadcaster in North Korea. It is broadcast terrestrially via the Pyongyang TV Tower in Moranbong-guyok, Pyongy ...

(KCTV), viewers can use the service not only in

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...

, but also in

Sariwon Sariwŏn () is the capital of North Hwanghae Province, North Korea. Population The city's population as of 2008 is 307,764. Administrative divisions Sariwŏn is divided into 31 ''tong'' (neighbourhoods) and 9 '' ri'' (villages): Healthcare ...

and

Sinuiju Sinŭiju (''Sinŭiju-si'', ; known before 1925 in English as Yeng Byen City) is a city in North Korea which faces Dandong, Liaoning, China across the international border of the Yalu River. It is the capital of North P'yŏngan province. Part of ...

- a region in which KCTV states demand for the equipment is particularly high, with several hundred users in the region.

References

External links

Updating the Manbang app
demonstration of the system GUI by Martyn Williams,

North Korea Tech North Korea Tech is a US-based blog authored by British journalist Martyn Williams which covers consumer electronics and technology developments in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It was established in 2010. North Korea Tech is based i ...

Telecommunications-related introductions in 2016 Television in North Korea Streaming television Internet radio Digital media players {{NorthKorea-stub