There is a difference between China and North Korea's internet access. North Korea works on a "whitelist" basis, whereas China operates on a "blacklist" basis. The Chinese people have access to the majority of the internet but, for cultural and language reasons, are not interested in most Western websites. Yes, many western social media and news sites are blocked but they are not "the internet" and if you consider them as such then the west has exactly the same problem as the one you have just described.