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Arirang (smartphone)

Arirang (Korean: 아리랑) is a line of North Korean Android smartphones. They were announced on 10 August 2013. The phone was distributed to local sales points operated by mobile operators such as Koryolink to be sold together with 3G SIM cards or as a stand-alone device. It is named after the "Arirang" Korean folk song.

Kim Jong Un has expressed his excitement with and support of the smartphone, believing it will support the country's economy and "instill national pride and self-respect".

Phones released in order - Arirang AS1201, Arirang 151, Arirang 152, Arirang 161, Gold Arirang which has a gold interior, the Double-sided Tachi Arirang FP68, Arirang 171 and Arirang 221.

History

In 2013, Kim Jong-un toured a factory called the “May 11 Factory” that makes the ‘Arirang’ smartphone. In the August of same year, first Arirang was released and was claimed to the first domestically produced smartphone though analysts say that “Arirang” is likely to be manufactured in China. A Japanese blog compared North Korean Arirang AS1201 with Chinese Uniscope U1201. The two models had mostly the same specs. According to Daily NK, in 2014, "Arirang" was sold for $400.

In 2016, Arirang 151 was launched alongside a budget version, Arirang 152. The phone had a slide out design. It had a 32GB memory chip and a 13 megapixel camera (4192 x 3104 pixel). It also had an "app locker" on it. These updated Arirang smartphone didn't allow Bluetooth file transfers from foreign phones.

In 2017, Arirang 161 was released. It had a 4.7 inch screen and was equipped with 32GB memory card. It was also the first phone to have a fingerprint sensor.

The Arirang 171 (아리랑171) was released in 2018. The phone runs on Android Nougat and has a Core 2.6 GHz MT6797 chip from MediaTek, 5.5-inch panel, 4GB of RAM, dual-rear camera 13MP lens, 8MP front-facing camera, 32GB of ROM, a fingerprint sensor and support for 4K video recording. The Arirang 171 can connect to the Mirae WiFi network.

According to a Danish software developer in 2018, Arirang has features including Bluetooth, 3G connectivity, a microSD slot and 'encrypted' messaging. The phone also come with bonus: a 500MB propaganda video. Christian Budde Jensen said that phone comes with multiple games which are five versions of Angry Birds, Super Mario and Plants VS Zombies.

According to CNN report, Arirang phones were sold for $350 in Pyongyang in 2017. It costs 3.3 million KPW to buy an Arirang smartphone.

From 2020 to 2023, Arirang have not released any new models. In October 2023, a smartphone called “Arirang 221” appeared in a Korean Central Television video.