Reimagining smartphones in a local mediascape

Drawing upon in-depth interviews with young smartphone users, as well as socioeconomic analyses, this study examines a localized media landscape emerging with the smartphone and its applications (apps). With particular reference to young Koreans’ engagement with the popular local app platform, KakaoTalk, the study explores how smartphone technology is reimagined in a local context. The KakaoTalk-scape shows that smartphones and their apps are articulated with community-based local modes of communication and the rhythm of urban space. It also demonstrates that media convergence occurs not only between different media platforms but also between global and local media practices.