Kwangmyong (network)
Kwangmyong (광명 lit. 'Bright Light') is a North Korean "walled garden" national intranet service opened in the early 2000s. The Kwangmyong intranet system stands in contrast to the global Internet in North Korea, which is available to fewer people in the country.
| Kwangmyong | |
A computer room with access to Kwangmyong at the Grand People's Study House in Pyongyang | |
| Korean name | |
|---|---|
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 광명 |
| Hancha | 光明 |
| Revised Romanization | gwangmyeong |
| McCune–Reischauer | kwang-myŏng |
| IPA | [kwa̠ŋ.mjʌ̹ŋ] |
The network uses domain names under the .kp top level domain that are not usually accessible from the global Internet. As of 2016, the network uses IPv4 addresses reserved for private networks in the 10.0.0.0/8 range, also known as 24-bit block as defined in RFC 1918. North Koreans often find it more convenient to access sites by their IP address rather than by domain name using Latin characters. Like the global Internet, the network hosts content accessible with web browsers, and provides an internal web search engine. It also provides email services and news groups. The intranet is managed by the Korea Computer Center.