Interview with two Portuguese athletes who ran the marathon in North Korea

Abstract

In this case study, the difference between two cultures will be analysed, being them, the Portuguese culture in contrast with the North Korean culture. A case study will be presented in which two Portuguese athletes, André Leite and João Abreu, go to North Korea in order to participate in an event of that country: the Marathon. This event attracts thousands of participants from all over the world and has become a good propaganda tool for the North Korean government. The athletes, during an interview to the newspaper "Expresso" and to "Observador", explain how it was to live for a few days in a country where everything is controlled by Kim Jong-un's government. Throughout this work, themes such as the notion of culture, the difference between mass culture and popular culture, signifying practices and cultural codes, the relationship between culture and power, cultural transits, social constructivism and translation as intercultural action will be addressed.