Cartographers of North Korea

Sensors, big data, and the Internet of Things have introduced new and powerful cartographic tools like free satellite imagery and open-source mapping platforms. Cartographers of North Korea is an initiative developed by Wonyoung So, a data visualization specialist from MIT, in which he compiled 324,415 data points on North Korea from OpenStreetMap and visualized them on the maps of the country. The project uses Scribit to share digital content in an innovative way, covering sites across the northern side of the Korean peninsula and exposing the whereabouts of places of sociopolitical significance and intrigue—from a missile launch station to an Italian restaurant. It proposes a more nuanced overview of North Korean society with the audience.