America: The U.S.'s Best, Most Influential, Most Peaceful Export

On January 26, 2023, popular U.S. hamburger chain Five Guys opened in Seoul, South Korea’s capital city. The weather was rainy and humid, but South Koreans braved up to twelve hours in line to get a taste of Americana.

 

The Five Guys anecdote came to mind while reading about tennis great Martina Navratilova’s recollections of Voice of America (VOA) while growing up in Czechoslovakia. Navratilova told the Washington Post’s Sally Jenkins that VOA “was our lifeline,” it was relief from bad music and worse propaganda from Czech stations that Navratilova described as “a total joke.”