Pokemon found in North Korea
With South Korea still awaiting the release of Pokemon Go, apparently their Northern neighbors are granted full access of the game.
Earlier this week, Reddit user Co1dNight (with suggestions from users PlayViktorForMe, borkborkporkbork, and CowseN-) took it upon themselves to see if it was in fact possible to play Pokemon Go in North Korea. Using a GPS spoofer and creating a throwaway PoGo account, they were able to falsify their GPS information and spoof themselves near important landmarks within Pyongyang.
His first attempts proved uneventful, with Pyongyang being nothing but a barren landscape. However, following suggestions of other users on Reddit, he tried again after spoofing himself to Santa Monica to get to level 8 to attain a Lure Module. Checking out various coordinates of landmarks provided by other Reddit users, Co1dNight visited Pyongyang’s May Day Stadium, the statues of Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung, and Hotel Rjugjong. It’s interesting to note the designs within the terrain near the various landmarks of North Korea as well as the mapping data which is not available to Pokemon Go players in South Korea.
After a few attempts, he finally was able to activate a lure module, and sure enough — there were Pokemon in North Korea. Co1dNight was able to find various Pokemon from a Squirtle to a Dragonair.
While many of us gamers in South Korea still patiently wait to play this game, it’s reassuring that at least some of our neighbors had the chance to get started on their Pokemon journeys.
