North Korea’s secrets revealed by phone: Study: BBC Learning English from the News

From BBC Learning English.

This is Learning English from The News, our podcast about the news headlines.

In this programme.

What a North Korean smartphone reveals about the country.

Hello, I'm Neil.

And I'm Pippa.

In this programme, we look at one big news story

and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it.

You can find all the vocabulary and headlines from this episode,

as well as a worksheet on our website, bbclearningenglish.com

So let's hear more about this story.

The BBC has gained access

to a North Korean phone that has been smuggled out of the country.

The phone doesn't have access to the internet

and is designed to make sure its users follow the rules

in North Korea, which is closely controlled by its leader, Kim Jong Un.

The phone creates a screenshot every five minutes, which,

according to the BBC report, is used by authorities to watch the user.

Let's have our first headline.

This one is from LADbible.

Smartphones smuggled out of North Korea

shows chilling details implemented by Kim Jong Un's regime.

That headline, again from LADbible.

Smartphone smuggled out of North Korea,

shows chilling details implemented by Kim Jong Un's regime.

This headline is about how the phone has been designed by Kim Jong Un's regime.

'Regime' here means government.

And we're interested in the adjective 'chilling'.

What can you tell us, Neil?

'Chilling' in this headline means 'scary' or 'frightening',

but 'chill' as a noun means a feeling of cold.

And so if something is 'chilling', literally, it makes you feel cold.

Yes, in English, we commonly associate being cold with being frightened.

For example, you might say a scary thing 'sent a shiver down your spine'.

A 'shiver' is the movement your muscles do when you're cold,

or a scary thing could be described as 'giving you goosebumps'.

And that's the bumps on your skin that you usually get when you feel cold.

So in the headline, the smartphone shows chilling details implemented by

Kim Jong Un's regime.

It shows details that are frightening.

Just a note, we can use 'chill' informally in a very different way to mean 'relax'.

So, for example, I could say 'I like to chill on the beach with my friends'.

Yes, but 'chilling' as an adjective always means 'scary'.

And you can use the context of the sentence

to help you know the difference.

We've had 'chilling' - frightening.

For example, 'I read a chilling story about a ghost, and now I can't sleep.'

This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

Today we're talking about a phone which helps show what life is like

in North Korea.

The phone, examined by the BBC, is quite different

to smartphones you might find in the rest of the world.

One of the differences is that the autocorrect on

the phone changes some Korean words.

Autocorrect is the software on your phone which corrects mistakes such

as spelling errors.

But on the North Korean phone,

certain words are changed so they fit with the beliefs of the government.

Yes. So, for example,

when you type 'South Korea', the phone will autocorrect the word

to 'puppet state', which is what Kim Jong Un's government calls the South.

Let's have another headline.

This one's from India Today.

From 'oppa' to 'comrade' North Korea's phones autocorrect to fit party line.

That headline again from India Today.

From 'oppa' to 'comrade'

North Korea's phones autocorrect to fit party line.

This headline is talking about the autocorrect on the North Korean phone

and gives another example.

The word 'oppa', which is used to mean brother or boyfriend in South Korea,

autocorrects to 'comrade'.

We're interested in this phrase 'party line'.

What's a party line, Pippa?

Well, we're not talking about birthday parties here.

We're talking about political parties or official political organisations.

And a 'party line' is a particular political organisation's

official opinion or position about something.

Yes. So the headline writer says

that the North Korean phone uses autocorrect to fit the party line.

It changes what people write so that it fits with the beliefs of the government.

We commonly hear 'follow the party line',

and we can also 'toe the party line', which means accept the party's beliefs.

We see 'party line' used a lot in political stories,

but we can also use it more generally,

just meaning to stick to the official position.

So, for example, a CEO might follow the party line in an interview.

It means they stick to the company's official position about something.

We've had 'party line': official opinion of an organisation

about a particular issue.

For example, 'The mayor didn't say anything new in her speech,

just the usual party line.'

This is Learning English from the News, from BBC Learning English.

We're talking about a phone from North Korea and

what it reveals about the country.

North Korea is isolated from the rest of the world.

People from North Korea cannot easily access information

from outside the country,

and it's also difficult for the rest of the world to know

what life is really like for people living in the country.

That's why the phone is so interesting,

because it helps show us what life is like for people in North Korea and

how the government controls things.

Let's have another headline, this one from Futurism.

This smartphone smuggled out of North Korea is absolutely wild.

That headline, again from Futurism.

This smartphone smuggled out of North Korea is absolutely wild.

OK, so the headline describes the phone in the story as absolutely 'wild'.

Now, Pippa, 'wild' makes me think of animals.

So what's going on here?

Well, yes. Literally,

if an animal or plant is 'wild', it means it lives independently from humans.

It's uncontrolled,

but we use 'wild' metaphorically in a few different contexts.

Here in the headline, 'wild' means strange or unexpected.

This is a very informal headline,

which is talking about just how different the North Korean phone is,

and how strange that might seem.

We can also use 'wild' in a slightly different way to mean 'uncontrolled'

or 'lively'.

For example, a party or event can be 'wild'.

Yes, and one final use of 'wild'.

If a theory or rumour or claim is described as 'wild',

it means it's extreme and possibly not true.

For example, some people say that the world is flat.

It's a pretty wild theory.

We've had 'wild', strange or unexpected.

For example, 'This TV show is wild.

I have no idea what's going to happen next.'

That's it for this episode of Learning English from the News.

We'll be back next week with another news story.

If you've enjoyed this programme, try the worksheet on our website

to test what you've learned.

It's at bbclearningenglish.com

You can also follow us on social media. Search BBC Learning English.

Thanks for joining us and goodbye. Bye.