Digitally-Divided Korea

Another matter that this blog will continue to follow in 2011 is that of Korea's digital divides.   The most obvious and poignant of these, of course, is national division itself.  Because Korea was divided before the revolution in digital communications started to gather steam, the present digital divide between North and South Korea is unequalled in magnitude, scope or implications anywhere else in the world.
Western scholars and journalists have, unfortunately, been slow to recognize the extent and impact of the digital divide between North and South Korea.   I've recently been reading the important book by Pippa Norris entitled Digital Divide:  Civic Engagement, Information Poverty and the Internet Worldwide.  (see portions here on Google books)  While her book makes note of Korea here and there, it utterly fails to even describe what South Korea had already accomplished by the year it was published, 2001.  Figure 3.2 in the paperback edition of the book is a bar graph depicting the "percentage of population online by nation" in 2000.  The very top bar, unfortunately, is not labeled, and the second bar represents Sweden, followed by Norway, Iceland and so forth.   I believe the top bar represents South Korea, because in 2000 its internet penetration was number one in the world, by some margin over the Scandinavian countries that caught it a few years later.
The pattern of attention to Korea needs to change, and a December 29 article in The Economist provides some evidence that this change may be starting.  Entitled "Parallel Economies," it compares the challenge of Korean reunification with that of German reunification.  As shown in the accompanying graphic (click to see a full-size version), the economic divide between the two nations has grown to alarming proportions.  If the Korea's reunified, the South Korean government would face a stark choice.  It could try to fill the gap in living standards between North and South through handouts, public investments and subsidies, or it could brace itself for heavy migration, as poor northerners moved to the South in search of higher wages.
Although The Economist focuses on the economics of the matter, what this blog finds interesting is the crucial role played by digital media in these matters.  After all, it is through the new media that residents in the northern half of Korea find out about the South and vice-versa.  
There is some evidence emerging that the government of North Korea has recognized the central role of information technology and digital media.  As reported by the North Korea Tech blog, the KCNA, North Korea's official news agency, has just launched video news.

A Media "Big Bang" in South Korea?

As noted by an article in the Joongang Daily, it is the dawn of a new year, and with it hopes for a new era in Korea's media industry, what some are referring to as a "Media Big Bang."  On the last day of 2010, the government announced the selection of local media companies that would be allowed to operate both newspaper and broadcasting businesses for the first time in 30 years.  The so-called "Media Big Bang" is expected to involve not only traditional media, but also online and mobile businesses.
The biggest impact may be on the five companies that won the new broadcasting rights, as shown in the accompanying graphic (click to see a larger version).  There are concerns that the broadcasting sector will become overcrowded with the entry of the new competitors because the amount of advertising revenue is not seen as large enough to support all of them. However, analysts say the move is necessary to promote increased competition in a sector that has been dominated by the three terrestrial broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS. The Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI) said in a recent report that restricting the number of television broadcasters damaged political pluralism, referring to the fact that newspapers were banned from owning television stations in 1980 as the then-military government sought to impose greater control over the media and public opinion. “An excessive restriction on media ownership may weaken the quality of media content,” it added.

Korea's Export and ICT-Led Economy

It is January 2, but this is my first blog post of 2011.  As an industry colleague noted in a recent e-mail message to me, the world is changing fast, and IT is at the center of things.
The news about South Korea's all-time record trade surplus during 2010 is a significant piece of information about its ICT sector.  As reported by international media including Singapore's Straits Times, the nation logged a $41.7 billion trade surplus in 2010.  This raised Korea's global export ranking to seventh.
The ICT sector was at the center of this development.  The Ministry of Knowledge Economy noted that the record figures indicate the country had solid performances in many sectors including semi-conductors, automobiles, mobile communications and general machinery equipment, despite the appreciation of the Korean currency as well as the tension on the peninsula.  In addition to semiconductors and mobile communications, the display and television industries did their share to contribute to Korea's trade surplus.
There are many interesting aspects, including risks, to Korea's export-led economic growth, and this is a general topic that this blog will continue to follow in 2011.   However, at this point in time, South Korea is surfing a wave of change in the semiconductor, mobile and display industries worldwide.  The Japan Times carried an interesting article yesterday entitled "Digital age leaves myopic Japan facing manufacturing crisis."   The article noted that, in the past, Japan was able to gain market share because its products had a technological edge and their companies drew strength from vertical integration and testing in Japan's domestic market.  However, from the 1990s, the core technologies for many electronics products, including computers, TVs and DVD players went digital and with modular components.
In this new digital, modular age, Korean companies, led by Samsung and LG, but also including many SMEs and parts manufacturers, seem to be off to a very good start.