A view into the undesirable exotic

I found this serene video of a bunch of people casually peering into North Korea - from a Starbucks in South Korea! - one of the most bizarre phenomena I have experienced online recently.

From the viewpoint of the South Koreas looking into those binoculars, it is literally a view into the past, which in a crazy way is actually an alternative future timeline of their own.

I have written about the recent eccentric rebranding of the iconic car-maker Jaguar. But this one by Starbucks comes out at the top among tactful marketing efforts in recent past. The placidly cold and clear statement Starbucks is making with this innovation is breathtaking. Who better than a leading global conglomerate to offer us a vantage point view into the crumbling echoes of a past that they themselves - as both agent and outcome - have been instrumental in steering away from?

From the point of view of North Korea, I wonder if they even want to be seen, a desire to be the exotic object in this spectacle, an example of a world that could within the grasp of all, if only we knew how to appreciate it.