Media technologies for play have become major industries in Japan and South Korea. Even in North Korea, citizens bypass the state to enjoy popular culture. At the same time, corporations and governments encourage people to produce economic values through play. The first comparative study of media technologies in Japan and the two Koreas, this book illuminates the peculiar geopolitical relations between the three countries through their development and use of digital technologies. Drawing from political economy, cultural studies and technology studies, this book will be essential reading for researchers and students of media technologies and popular culture in Northeast Asia.

The North Korean nuclear issue has been one of the most significant challenges to international peace and security in the 21st century. The failure to peacefully resolve the issue could trigger regional instability or even nuclear warfare in the worst scenario. Since its first successful nuclear test in 2006, North Korea has repeatedly defied the international community regarding its nuclear program despite the effort and resources that the international community has focused on the issue. Many consider Pyongyang decision-makers irrational or simply crazy. Nonetheless, since early 2018, North Korea has drastically changed its foreign policy and actively pursued rapprochement. How to understand DPRK foreign policy, its past, and future? How will the nuclear issue develop under a possibly new paradigm of North Korean foreign policy? This book seeks to provide readers with a comprehensive analysis of North Korean foreign relations. As the existing analysis and literature on North Korean foreign relations focus primarily on China, the United States, South Korea, and Japan, but such analysis ignores the DPRK’s relations with many other states and organizations that not only interact with North Korea nevertheless also play important roles in its strategy of surviving in the international systems.