Media Technologies for Work and Play in East Asia : Critical Perspectives on Japan and the Two Koreas

Media Technologies for Work and Play in East Asia: Critical Perspectives on Japan and the Two Koreas examines work and play technologies in the three Northeast Asian countries by collecting ten essays on analogue and digital technologies such as pachinko, Pokėmon GO, esports, and televised nuclear testing. This book argues that the development and practices of media technologies have to be situated in the local contexts; therefore, Asia is neither an exception to nor a laggard to western technologies. To advance this argument, the first aim of the book is to use three approaches—political economy, cultural studies, and science and technology studies—to examine the complexity of media technologies. The second aim is to discuss how media technologies in Asia illustrate the peculiar geopolitical relations between Japan, South Korea, and North Korea as results of colonisation and independence, war and reconstruction, westernisation and indigenisation, as well as state-led development and globalisation. This volume bridges two groups of current literature: an examination of technological development in Japan and South Korea since the 1970s and the use of technologies in local contexts. In addition, it also enhances an understanding of how North Korean leaders and citizens use media technologies to connect themselves to the world. Front Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table Of Contents -- List Of Figures And Tables -- Notes On Contributors And Editors -- Foreword 1: Media For Work And Play In A Pandemic World -- Foreword 2: The Development Of Information And Communication Technologies In South Korea After World War Ii -- Introduction -- Part I: Gender Online And Digital Sex -- Introduction To Part I -- 1. Sharing, Selling, Striving: The Gendered Labour Of Female Social Entrepreneurship In South Korea -- 2.'for Japan Only?' Crossing And Re-inscribing Boundaries In The Circulation Of Adult Computer Games Part Ii: Governance And Regulations -- Introduction To Part Ii -- 3. The New Personal Data Protection In Japan: Is It Enough? -- 4. Phenomena And Phobia Through Pokemon Go: An Analysis Of The Reactions On The Augmented Reality Game In Japan -- 5. How Do Materiality And Corporeality Inform The Intellectual Property Debate? A Case Study Of Pirated Media In North Korea -- 6. Hyperreal Peninsula: North Korea's Nuclear Cinema And South Korea's Digital Revolution -- Part Iii: Techno-identity And Digital Labour Condition -- Introduction To Part Iii 7. 'too Many Koreans': Esports Biopower And South Korean Gaming Infrastructure -- 8. South Korea's Esports Industry In Northeast Asia: History, Ecosystem And Digital Labour -- 9. Representations Of Play: Pachinko In Popular Media -- 10. The Work Of Care In The Age Of Feeling Machines -- Conclusion -- Index -- Back Cover Edited By Micky Lee, Peichi Chung. Electronic Reproduction. Baltimore, Md Available Via World Wide Web. 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.|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.