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The Korean Society for Journalism & Communication Studies (KSJCS)
[ Article ]
Korean Journal of Journalism & Communication Studies - Vol. 68, No. 1, pp.386-417
ISSN: 2586-7369 (Online)
Print publication date 29 Feb 2024
Received 13 Oct 2023 Accepted 30 Jan 2024 Revised 01 Feb 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.20879/kjjcs.2024.68.1.011

기술의 번역 : 북한 스마트폰의 사회기술적 형성

채석진***
***조선대학교 미디어커뮤니케이션학과 조교수 sjchae@chosun.ac.kr
Translation of Technology : The Sociotechnical Assemblage of North Korean Smartphones
Suk Jin Chae***
***Assistant Professor, Chosun University sjchae@chosun.ac.kr

초록

이 논문은 ‘번역’(translation)이라는 개념을 채택하여, 스마트폰 기술이 북한이라는 특수한 사회에서 어떻게 채택, 변형, 사용되고 있는지 살펴본다. 이 글에서 ‘번역’(translation)은 특정한 기술적 양식을 구성하는 역사적, 사회적, 문화적, 기술적, 실천적 과정들을 통칭한다. 이 글은 2019년부터 2021년까지 2년간 수행한 연구에 기반한다. 이 연구는 북한 스마트폰 사회기술적 형성 과정을 크게 북한 당국이 주도하는 과정(정부의 번역)과 일반 사람들의 실천을 통해 구성되는 과정(이용자의 번역)으로 나누어 살펴보고, 이 둘의 상호작용성을 살펴보았다. 전자가 북한 당국이 생산하는 공식적인 스마트폰을 중심으로 살펴보았다면, 후자는 북한 일반인들의 비공식적인 스마트폰(예컨대, 중국 스마트폰)에 초점을 두었다. 이 글은 북한 당국이 보급하는 ‘북한산 스마트폰’의 기술적 양식이 어떻게 정부와 이용자의 번역이 교차하며 구성되어 왔는지 탐사한다. 이를 위해 북한 스마트폰과 관련된 광범위한 문헌 연구(국내외 학술논문, 언론 보도, 관련 기관 보고서 및 북한 자료 등)를 수행하였고, 관련 전문가 및 북한 출신 이주민을 대상으로 인터뷰를 수행하였다. 이 글은 크게 세 부분으로 전개된다. 먼저 이 글이 북한 스마트폰의 사회기술적 형성을 이해하기 위한 개념적 틀로 채택하고 있는 ‘번역’으로서의 기술의 확산에 관해 논의한다. 다음으로, 소비에트 연방 붕괴 이후 북한에서 비공식인 연결망이 일상에서 어떻게 핵심적인 위치를 차지하게 되었는지 살펴본다. 이 과정에서 오랜 기간의 경제 위기, 소비재 부족, 이중 경제 속에서, 북한 사람들이 비공식적인 연결망과 공식적인 연결망을 모두 활용하여 상품과 통화를 획득해왔고, 미디어 소비와 사용은 이러한 연결망 속에서 구성되어왔음을 기술한다. 마지막으로, 북한 정부가 2010년대 이후 자체 생산하여 보급한 ‘북한 스마트폰’의 특수한 기술적 양식이 디지털 기술을 기반으로 한 경제 발전을 추구하면서 동시에 비공식적인 미디어 사용을 억제하려는 북한 당국의 이중 전력과 어떻게 맞물려 진화해왔는지 살펴본다. 이 과정에서 정부, 외국 기업, 외국인, 정부 관료, 기업인, 일반 주민 등 다양한 주체들이 각자의 기업가적 프로젝트에 따라 스마트폰 확산에 관여하며, 특정 기술에 단순히 저항하거나 기술을 전파하는 것이 아니라 기술의 존재와 확산에 필수적인 역할을 해왔음을 보여준다. 결론으로 이 글은 ‘북한 스마트폰’의 특수한 기술적 양식이 일반 사람들의 비공식적 미디어 사용을 공식 경제로 통합하기 위한 정부의 시도와 이를 우회하려는 사용자들의 시도가 상호작용하며 구축된 번역의 산물임을 주장한다. 이 글은 대외적인 제약과 자원의 부족함 속에서 정부와 일반인 모두가 필요한 물품과 물자를 확보하기 위해 끊임없이 새로운 방법을 모색하는 가장 기업가적인 국가로서 북한을 재조명한다.

Abstract

This article examines how smartphone technologies have been adopted, transformed, and used by various actors in the context of post-Soviet North Korean society. Using the concept of ‘translation’ (Callon & Latour, 1981) as a conceptual tool, this paper attempts to understand the dynamic processes of assembling North Korean smartphones. It explores the two interwoven processes of translation: a formal process of translation undertaken by the government, and an informal process of translation undertaken by ordinary people. The former focuses on the use of official smartphones by the North Korean authorities while the latter focuses on the use of unofficial smartphones by ordinary North Koreans. This article understands the specific forms of North Korean smartphones as a product of translation constructed through the interaction between the government's attempts to integrate ordinary people's informal use of smartphones into the formal economy and users' attempts to circumvent them. To this end, I conducted an interdisciplinary study combining North Korean studies and media studies between 2019 and 2021. It included an intensive literature review on North Korean smartphones and in-depth interviews with experts and North Korean migrants living in South Korea. This article consists of three parts. The first part is a theoretical discussion that defines the process of proliferation of technology as a process of ‘translation’, which I adopted a conceptual tool for understanding the sociotechnical assemblage of North Korean smartphones. The second part locates North Korea as a part of the post-Soviet economy. Like many post-Soviet countries, North Korea suffered a long period of economic crisis, especially after the collapse of the Soviet economy. In response to the shortage of consumer goods, North Korean people have acquired goods and currency through entrepreneurial practices in the informal economy. As a result, the informal economy has taken a major role in maintaining daily life among North Korean people. On the other hand, amid international economic sanctions against North Korea, the North Korean government has continuously attempted to absorb the informal economy into the formal economy. The last part shows how various actors, including the government, foreign companies, foreigners, government officials, businessmen, and ordinary residents have shaped the ways of the proliferation of smartphones according to their entrepreneurial projects. They do not simply resist or propagate a particular technology but play an essential role in its existence and proliferation. This study shed new light on North Korea as a most enterprising nation where both the government and ordinary people have constantly tried to find new ways to secure necessary goods and supplies amid external constraints and lack of resources. Smartphones have been an integral part of these entrepreneurial practices.

Keywords:

Translation of Technology, Smartphones, North Korea, Economy of Scarcity, Post-Soviet Media Technology

키워드:

기술의 번역, 스마트폰, 부족함의 경제, 포스트 사회주의 미디어 사용, 북한

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea(이 논문은 2019년 대한민국 교육부와 한국연구재단의 지원을 받아 수행된 연구임) [NRF-2019S1A5B5A01042817].

이 연구는 북한대학원 심연북한연구소 박사후연구원으로 재직하며 수행한 학제간 연구로, 많은 분들의 도움으로 발전하였다. 북한 스마트폰에 관한 연구를 처음 제안해주신 구갑우 교수님, 연구의 전 과정에서 세심하게 지원해 주신 김성경 교수님, 북한 기술에 관한 해외 연구 사례(Berthelier, 2018)를 공유해주시며 격려해주신 이희은 교수님께 특히 감사드린다. 또한 졸고를 읽고 구체적이고 통찰력있는 조언을 해주신 세 분의 심사위원님들께도 감사드린다. 마지막으로, 가장 중요하게 인터뷰에 응해주신 연구 참가자분들에게 깊이 감사드린다. 이 논문은 한국언론정보학회 2023년 봄철 정기학술대회에서 발표된 바 있다.

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