...the same could be said for us (not my first comment, but the second), but ours is not a bell jar (except for those who live in one of their own making).

It's contemplating the culture clash and the prospect (however distant) of change and what it would mean for that society that intrigues me. If I'm not mistaken, the Soviet Union, being so much larger, had much less complete control over information and goods. The black market in information and goods had a big hand in their regime/economic change, and the change has been extremely messy there. How much messier (a polite word) will it be in N. Korea?

~ Becky in Tucson