The augmented reality mobile game “Pokemon Go” appears to have reached even the reclusive North Korean regime, as shown by PokemonGOMap, a digital map that marks locations in the game.

The map shows “Pokestop” locations that players physically visit to collect game items. Pokemon also tend to appear most frequently around these spots, which are usually clustered around dense areas of human population, meaning cities get more than rural areas.

In South Korea, Pokestop sites are especially concentrated in the capital city Seoul.


The same goes for North Korea. An examination of PokemonGOMap shows the country has few Pokestop locations except in the capital city Pyongyang and a strip of land close to the South. This also makes sense, as it is presumed that those living in the capital are the most privileged and financially able to own mobile phones.

As all the Pokestop locations are labeled in either English or Chinese, speculation is that these stops were likely registered by foreign tourists rather than North Koreans.

Sites such as the Kim Il-sung Stadium and Kaesong Youth Park Rollercoaster are set up as Pokestops. However, it is not certain if North Koreans are actually playing “Pokemon Go.”

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)