Hwanyonghamnida, readers of Ask a North Korean — the feature where you can email us with your questions about life in North Korea and have them answered by NK News‘s very own defector writers.

Today’s question is from Kellyn, from Dawson Creek, Canada, who asks whether the eavesdropping networks depicted in the series “Crash Landing on You” really exist. If they do, how extensive are they?

Tae-il Shim, who left North Korea in 2018, sheds light on this highly secretive part of North Korean society. He even describes a firsthand experience he had with the technology when he