Conversation

This article examines the value of exposure to foreign media and pop culture: a form of intercultural "conversation." As a case study, it focuses on North Korea, where citizens gain access to American and South Korean pop culture via illegal USB sticks, often smuggled in by balloon. The article identifies three possible transformative effects of such encounters: the humanization of the "Other"; the disruption of established systems of belief; and fresh awareness of the contingency of local beliefs and practices.