The Global Internet is Decentralizing: Where South Korea Fits

Telegeography has come out with a very interesting new report on Global Internet Geography that shows clearly how the global internet is decentralizing.   To see a full size version of the accompanying graphic, click on it. According to the report, .the global Internet is far less centered on the United States than it was 10 years ago. The development of rich regional networks, coupled with a need for diversification, has reduced the share of international capacity connected to the U.S. for all regions except Latin America.
The report also notes that the shifting topology of the global Internet is tied to the desire to locate content nearer to end users and, ultimately, reduce latency. Several carriers reported that improved routing efficiencies, largely attributable to the caching and localization of content, have reduced traffic on their interregional links and led to more rapid growth on local and regional links. (I have put "localization" in bold to emphasize it.).
The desire to locate content nearer to end users is something that will be apparent to any Korean internet user who has impatiently waited for web pages hosted on servers in the U.S. to respond.   The localization of content is a much more important matter, especially here in South Korea.   This nation, despite possessing the world's most extensive and advanced digital networks, stands out as only one of four countries in the world where Google does not yet have a respectable market share for web search.  See my post in late 2009, before the late arrival of Apple's iPhone here.  The internet in Korea, despite its dazzling networks, is still largely a walled garden ( if you doubt that, do a search of this blog for "walled-garden" to read some of my other posts.)  The vast majority of web surfing done by Koreans is done right here on within the southern half of the peninsula, using Naver, Daum and other popular Korean language sites.  This fact alone says volumes about the nature of the internet and the nature of Korea's information society.  I suspect that similar patterns elsewhere in the world account for the Telegeography findings.  What does all of this say about the role of language and culture in 21st century communications and the potential role of the internet in promoting global awareness?   While the younger generations here in Korea are beginning to search the worldwide web using Google, thanks to the arrival of smartphones in late 2009, these are questions that deserve to be examined in some detail.

Rural Boarding School Educational Model Introduced in Korea

The Hankyoreh has an interesting story on the recent establishment of a rural boarding school in North Chungcheong Province.  Students accepted into the school live there in dormitories from the time the bus arrives on Monday morning until the Friday afternoon bus leaves to take them to their homes.  The school is a collaborative effort of the North Chungcheong Province Office of Education, residents of farming communities, and students parents.   It represents an effort to introduce educational diversity and opportunities to children in rural areas.   What caught my eye in the story was the example of one student living in rural North Chungcheong Province who had moved there from Daejon in the third grade.  He was unaccustomed to rural life and consequently spent seven to eight hours a day on the internet playing games!  The article provides an interesting glimpse of the educational challenges faced in rural Korea today and how they are being met.

The Shape of Education for the 21st Century

So far, I'm truly enjoying my new job with the Lyntz Knowledge Group in Seoul.  Working with a larger network of Korean and American colleagues, I'm helping to shape a new business approach to international education.   Our new business model is responsive to two major developments that are transforming education in the early years of this century.
The first of these developments is the information revolution, which features continued convergence of digital media, the rapid global spread of mobile broadband, greater use of video and, of course, social networking.  The IT revolution is changing the character and quality of education, both on-campus and off, while literally breaking down the walls of the traditional campus.
The second major development is the globalization or internationalization of education.  It is characterized by a major increase worldwide in the number of students studying abroad along with major changes in the pattern of student flows among the countries of the world.  East Asia, which has traditionally been a major source for students who study in North America and Europe, is slowly but surely becoming an important destination for study abroad.
Korea fits into this picture in a very interesting way.   South Korea possesses the world's most advanced digital networks, and a tertiary education system that is beginning to draw students from all over Asia and the rest of the world, especially from developing nations.  Its leading colleges and universities all have large numbers of U.S. educated Ph.D.s and many of those schools are aggressively expanding their English language curricula.
The potential for Korea, and for the Northeast Asia region, as an education and research hub, has yet to be realized.  However, it may come sooner than many predict.   NYU has just announced plans to establish a degree-granting campus in Shanghai.  South Korea has ambitious plans for the Global Campus in New Songdo, currently its major effort to attract international schools.
The information revolution, global mobility, and changing patterns of university-industry cooperation and innovation are some of the major factors that will transform education in this century.   This morning I read with interest that Stanford University is one of a larger group of schools that have expressed interest in establishing a campus in New York City! Read the article here.  There was a joke circulating among Stanford graduates about a certain Ivy League school being the "Stanford of the East Coast."  Now there may actually be such a school!  Why not a Stanford of Northeast Asia, situated here on the Korean peninsula between its larger neighbors and ideally positioned for East Asian studies, broadly conceived?

Yet another Broadband Index: Korea Ranks near the Top on "e-Intensity"

The Boston Consulting Group was recently commissioned to do a study of the internet economy in the U.K.  In order to measure the reach and depth of the internet in the United Kingdom, and to make comparisons with other countries, the BCG created an international "e-intensity index."  Fifty percent of the index is accounted for by enablement, which measures how internet access and how well built the infrastructure is.  The other two elements in the index are expenditure, how much money consumers and businesses are spending online on e-commerce and online advertising, and engagement, which measures how actively businesses, governments and consumers are embracing the internet.
The top ranked countries in the world on the BCG's e-intensity index are shown in the accompanying graphic (click on it to see a full size version).  South Korea, not surprisingly, ranks as the number two country in the world, behind Denmark.  I say "not surprisingly," given the weight given to infrastructure.  It is now well known aroud the world that South Korea has the most extensive and modern digital networks in the world.

iPhone 4 "Made in Korea?"

The Chosun Ilbo today carried an interesting short story entitled, "iPhone 4 Made in Korea."   In fact, amid all of the news reports of a titanic clash between Samsung's new Android phone and the iPhone, many of the most important components of the iPhone 4 are supplied by Korean companies.  The screen, which received a great deal of attention during the iPhone 4's unveiling recently in San Francisco, is manufactured by LG, which also makes the displays for Apple's iPad.  Samsung supplies the flash memory chip and the A4 CPU chip that powers the iPhone.  As if that weren't enough, the batteries in the new phone are manufactured by Samsung SDI, and it is equipped with multi-layer ceramic capacitors made by Samsung.  Smaller Korean companies are also involved.  Amotech supplies the varistors used in the phone, and Interflex produces the flexible printed circuit boards.

Korea Still has World's Fastest Average Internet Speed

The latest report from Akamai, based on data for the fourth quarter of 2009, shows that South Korea still has, on average, the world's fastest internet connections.  This was the subject of an earlier post, based on data from the third quarter of last year.  Those who are interested in changes from quarter to quarter can read the report but the overall picture remains largely the same.  On a personal note, I continue to enjoy fast internet access, both at my desk and while on the move via my iPhone.

96 Percent of South Koreans Think Internet Access is a Fundamental Right

According to an international survey conducted by Globescan for the BBC World Service, 79 percent of adults around the world think of internet access as their fundamental right.  The percentage here in Korea is a world-leading 96%, compared to 94% in Mexico, and 87% in China.  78 percent of respondents worldwide felt the internet had brought them greater freedom, 90% thought it was a good place to learn, and 51% said they now enjoyed spending their spare time on social networking sites like Facebook or Myspace.  Despite this enthusiasm, the poll also showed concern, with many users cautious about speaking their minds online.  72% of Germans, 70% of Koreans, 69% of French and 65% of Japanese did not feel they could safely express their opinions online.  More than half of internet users worldwide (53%) agreed that "the internet should never be regulated by any level of government anywhere,"  including large majorities in Korea (83%), Nigeria (77%) and Mexico (72%).  The poll surveyed 27,973 adult citizens in 26 countries.

Korea's "IT Powerhouse" Paradox

I've been puzzling a great deal these past several months over the paradoxical situation that exists in South Korea.   On the one hand, this country has the most advanced and extensive digital networks in the world, yet it managed to lag behind much of the world (80 or more other countries) by two and a half years in adopting  mobile broadband, as symbolized here by the Apple iPhone.  How could a country that invests so much in education, R&D and infrastructure, find itself in this situation?  The following are some thoughts I have.  They are only initial attempts to find an answer, and I'd love to receive some incisive comments on this post.

• The information and communications technology (ICT) and telecommunications sectors in Korea are dominated by large companies, including the chaebol groups.  Inside these large companies the workers and the labor unions exert a great deal of influence, making it difficult for them to adapt quickly to technological change.
• The established mobile service providers, along with the manufacturers of handsets and network equipment, were making a lot of money with the current arrangments, so why upset the apple cart by introducing the iPhone or Android phones to the Korean market?  If we include the government here, another interpretation could be that, while profitable in the very short term, this was a costly policy mistake for Korea over the medium to long term.
• Finally, I cannot help but observe that language and culture played a role in all of this.  After all, Koreans have not yet widely adopted Google as an internet search engine, preferring Naver to search within a Korean-language walled-garden.  Heavy dependence on Naver and other Korean language portals, along with overly-heavy reliance on Microsoft, undoubtedly contributed to the lag in introducing real mobile broadband via the iPhone and Android phones. 

These are some of my preliminary thoughts.  What is missing in this picture?  I invite your comments.

Korea: Fastest Internet Connections in the World

Akamai has released its latest quarterly State of the Internet report, this one for the 3rd quarter of 2009.  Not surprisingly, it shows that South Korea continues to have the fastest internet connection speeds in the world, and by quite some margin over second ranked Japan.  As shown in the graphic in the upper left (click to see full-size graphic), Koreans on average connected to broadband internet at a speed of 14.6 megabits per second, almost twice as fast as the 7.9 Mbps recorded for second-place Japan.   (Note that Akamai uses its globally-deployed server network to collect data for these reports.  The company estimates that it sees over a billion internet users.)
For further detail, readers will want to download and read the entire report.  Some of the highlights include:

• South Korea has six of the top ten fastest cities in Asia, all with average speeds above 15 Mbps.  They were Masan, Iksan, Koyang, Seocho, Poryong, and Ilsan.
• 74 percent of the nation's population connected to broadband internet at speeds greater than 5 Mbps.  This compared to 60 percent in Japan and much lower percentages in other nations around the world.  Only 24 percent of U.S. citizens connected at speeds above 5 Mbps.
• The breakdown of speed distribution for leading countries, as shown in the graphic below (click to see full size version) shows that South Korea's drive toward implementing Fiber To the Home (FTTH) is having an impact.  Sixteen percent of the population connected at speeds greater than 25 Mbps, a figure no other country matched.

The iPhone's Impact on Mobile Networks in Korea, the U.S. and Britain

Having spent the past year or more reading the laments of Korea's mobile service providers and others here about low levels of data usage, and knowing that this country probably has more unused 3G network capacity than any other nation in the world, it is interesting to read about the woes of AT&T in the U.S., and now O2, one of the leading mobile service providers in the United Kingdom.
As outlined in a PC World article, O2 in Britain has now joined AT&T in the United States in blaming the "excessive data demands" of the iPhone for crippling the network!   If in fact, the U.S. and British networks are not capable of handling the data load, then Korea, with its advanced and under-utilized networks should be in an enviable situation.   The PC World article does note that some reports suggest that the iPhone itself may be the cause of problems and complaints in major metropolitan areas like San Francisco and New York.
From a consumer standpoint, the best outcome will be to build robust, high speed data networks (WiBro comes to mind here) rather than laying the blame on consumers who happen to like using mobile broadband!

Korea's "Smart Grid" Plans

South Korea plans to be the first country in the world to convert its electricity network into so-called "smart grids," as noted by a story in The Korea Times.  Korea plans to implement its high-tech nationwide electricity grid by 2030, at a projected cost of $23.3 billion.  The new grid should help the country reduce power consumption by 3 percent and cut greenhouse gas emissions by about 150 million tons.
A smart grid links electricity suppliers with consumers in an IP-based network.  Many countries are striving toward the goal of having smart grid technology.   Stakeholders in the United States have identified the following performance characteristics of smart grid technology.

• Self healing from power disturbance events.
• Enabling active participation by consumers in demand response.
• Operating resiliently against physical and cyber attack.
• Providing power quality for 21st century needs.
• Accommodating all generation and storage options.
• Enabling new products, services and markets.
• Optimizing assets and operating efficiently.

A simple example of how the smart grid will work is that it will allow home or apartment owners to schedule their washing machines or other appliances to run when electricity rates are lowest.  This is the same principle as the "night-rate electricity boilers" that are so popular for ondol heating systems and hot water in Korea.  The smart-grid will be accessible from both mobile and fixed broadband internet, so people could be able to make adjustments to their home appliances via a mobile handset.
Residents of Jeju Island will get the first glimpse of the possibilities offered by smart grids.  KEPCO and 167 other companies are collaborating to build the nation's first smart-grid test bed

I'm officially an iPhone User: Some Initial Reactions

On Wednesday of this week I purchased an iPhone and stopped using my older Motorola Razr.  I had debated for weeks whether to wait and see what kind of Android handsets Samsung and LG would come out with next year.  Also, I knew that Motorola's Droid would be available in the Korean market early next year, probably in January.  However, I have no need whatsoever for the slide-out physical keyboard.  It strikes me as an appendage from an earlier age in the evolution of digital communication.  So, after two days of using the iPhone (3GS, 32 GB) here are some of my reactions.

• It is a handheld computer or PC, more than a phone.  There is no single "killer" application.  What makes it so wildly successful is that it brings broadband to your palm.
• The screen resolution is great.  I had debated waiting for one of the Samsung AMOLED screen-equipped Androids next year, but the iPhone display is so crisp and clear that I doubt I'll experience any buyer's remorse.
• The touch and multi-touch features on the iPhone are both designed for easy use.  All you need is a clean screen and dry fingers and you can rapidly move through screens, scroll and zoom using only your thumb or a single finger for the most part.  The user interface is elegant, with no extra steps and it is also largely intuitive.
• Synchronizing:   I was very pleasantly surprised at how fast I could synchronize my contacts, calendar, pictures and other information from my notebook to the iPhone.

The above are some personal reactions.  Using the device for a couple of days has also reinforced some of my thoughts about the Korean mobile market.

• I'll repeat my earlier prediction that millions, not hundreds of thousands of iPhones will be sold here in the next year or two.  It is a big hit with younger people and we already know that diffusion rates in Korea's closely knit culture can be extremely fast.
• Samsung, LG and the mobile service providers here need to take a close look at the overall impact and patterns of use of the iPhone, not as an Apple iPhone per se, but rather as a breakthrough device, similar to the first PC, and the first GUI or mouse.   A sea-change is taking place in mobile communications worldwide, and Korea has some catching-up to do.
•  In the past, Korea has shown its ability not only to catch-up, but then to go out in front of other countries in the ICT sector.  For the long run, don't underestimate what this country's leading companies may accomplish in mobile communications!

Report from Barcelona--August 2009

I've been in Barcelona since Monday of this week for a one-week vacation.  A couple of observations seem relevant to this blog.

1.  The hotel where we're staying provides wireless internet, gratis, but the speeds are noticeably somewhat slower than what we're used to in Korea.  In Korea, even in the countryside of Kangwon province, we get a solid 54 mbps connection.  In Barcelona, we've found ourselves waiting for web pages to load, and unable to do some online seat booking with British Airways for our return trip, presumably because of the slower speeds and online forms timing out.

2. Our hotel advertised "international channels" on the television, which is provided via a relatively new Samsung flat screen set.   We were a bit surprised, so asked at the front desk and found that they are shifting all hotel television to digital within a week.  So they sent a technician up to our room who configured the cable so that we could receive all of the analog English and other language channels.

Looking forward to getting back to the land of the morning calm and fast internet!