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Envisioning a world where every North Korean can think, act, and move freely.
We endeavor to provide all North Koreans with access to uncensored sources of information and media as well as safe channels of communication.
NORTH KOREANS LIVE IN THE DARK WITHOUT ACCESS TO OUTSIDE INFORMATION.
0% of North Koreans live with open and unrestricted access to the internet. The North Korean regime tightly controls the types of information and media content its citizens consume. Yet, there has never been a greater opportunity -- or greater need -- than now to marshall resources to make the world’s information available to all North Koreans.
NORTH KOREANS CRAVE CONNECTIVITY.
Access to communications devices and foreign media in North Korea is growing rapidly. North Korean people are gaining access to new forms of technology, and use them to connect to the outside world. With USBs, smartphones, and other devices, they are exploring curiosities that state-sanctioned media does not want them to.
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INFORMATION CRITICALLY ALTERS THE NORTH KOREAN WORLDVIEW.
With more insight into history, pop culture, and politics, North Korean people can make more informed understandings about the world around them. 61% of North Koreans surveyed listened to radio in North Korea to learn news about the outside world. Another 26% relied on radio to learn more about North Korea's leaders and lessons they can use in their daily lives.
"No matter how many people die, the sensational popularity [of cultural products] doesn’t die. That is the power of culture."
— Young male from Pyongyang who defected from North Korea in 2010
LUMEN IS BREAKING THROUGH THE REGIME'S INFORMATION FIREWALL.
LUMEN centralizes various skill sets to maximize distribution and delivery of information into North Korea. Our team has decades of experience in fieldwork, research and publishing, advocacy, engineering, and policy in authoritarian regimes with a focus on North Korea.
