Korea's use of computers, big data and robots in controlling COVID-19

As shown in the accompanying chart (click for a full size version) from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the daily number of new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has decreased markedly over the past 12 days.  The bars in the chart represent the daily number of new cases, while the blue line depicts the cumulative total cases, which is beginning to level off.
Recent reporting by international media including CNN and the BBC indicate that rapid and large scale testing is part of the reason for Korea's success. The  Financial Times published a bar chart comparing Korea's volume of testing with that of other countries. (click for a full size version)

The CNN report, in particular, caught my eye.   It described the role of Seegene, a Seoul-based biotechnology company, in the development and production of test kits.  The report began by noting that "Before there were any cases of novel coronavirus confirmed in South Korea, one of the country's biotech firms had begun preparing to make testing kits to identify the disease."  South Korea has a strong commitment to biotechnology, much of it centered here in the new city of Songdo.  I have a birds-eye view of Samsung Biologics from my apartment on the Incheon Global Campus, just a 10 minute walk away.
The CNN report on Seegene went on as follows. "In the basement of Seegene's headquarters in Seoul lies the key to the company's coronavirus success. There the company houses an artificial intelligence-based big data system, which has enabled the firm to quickly develop a test for coronavirus. Tests known as assay kits are made up of several vials of chemical solutions. Samples are taken from patients and mixed with the solutions, which react if certain genes are present. Without the computer, it would have taken the team two to three months to develop such a test, said Chun. This time, it was done in a matter of weeks."
In addition to the use of its own powerful computer and big data, Seegene made use of robots to automate the testing process, dramatically reducing the time it took.
Korea's approach to combating the novel coronavirus reminded me of reading Craig Venter's autobiography, A Life Decoded:  My Genome My Life.  Venter's approach to mapping the human genome depended upon investment in computing power and was dismissed by many leading scientists at the time.  It seems to me that Korea's approach to COVID-19 demonstrates what may be accomplished by leveraging digital technologies to attack the problem.

Networks, epidemics and infodemics

Part of what makes the coronavirus outbreak in South Korea so interesting is the fact that this nation has some of the world's leading digital networks.   These digital networks, in turn, underpin and enhance the role of social networking in Korean society.  I've posted earlier (see these posts) on the subject of "infodemics" in Korea.  The term infodemic was coined in a 2003 Washington Post article by David Rothkopf.  The opening paragraph of that article notes that "SARS is the story of not one epidemic but two, and the second epidemic, the one that has largely escaped the headlines, has implications that are far greater than the disease itself. That is because it is not the viral epidemic but rather an "information epidemic" that has transformed SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, from a bungled Chinese regional health crisis into a global economic and social debacle."
The current coronavirus outbreak offers yet another challenge to understand not only epidemics, but also the infodemics that accompany them.  An article by Reuters Graphics entitled "The Korean Clusters" is helpful in understanding the explosion of coronavirus cases in Korean churches and hospitals.  The map graphic in this post (click for a full size version) shows the number of  coronavirus cases as of February 26).  I recommend this article for some excellent explanatory graphics.  Oh yes, and I'm teaching networks courses at both graduate and undergraduate levels this semester.  At least for the first several weeks and possibly much longer, they will be delivered online, as South Korea seeks to minimize social gatherings to combat the spread of this coronavirus.

Samsung led global smartphone shipments in 2019

China and Korea dominate 5G smartphone market

As reported in the Korea Joongang Daily, the global market for 5G smartphones is dominated by Chinese and Korean firms.  As shown in the figure (click to see a full size version), Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics ranked second, together accounting for 41.7% of the global market.   The Chinese firm Huawei ranked number one in market share.  Together with Vivo and Xiaomi, Chinese firms accounted for 54.1 percent of the global market.

Academic publishing in 2019-2020

Caught up in a myriad of other activities as the Fall semester 2019 draws to a close at SUNY Korea, I've been neglecting my blog!  Since it was launched over a decade ago, I've posted multiple times every month, but not one single post this month (November 2019).  This post will keep the record of at least one post per month over the life of the blog intact. 
I'd like to use this post to draw attention to an issue that continues to bedevil scholars who pursue a livelihood through teaching and research in colleges and universities.  Simply put, should we publish online and make our contributions freely available or seek the most reputable journal and book publishers in an effort to advance our careers and protect our "intellectual property."  See  some of my prior posts on this topic (at this link).   Also, to what extent should we rely on platforms like ResearchGate or Academia.edu to promote our own research, versus publication in high-impact journals that developed their reputations during the 20th century mass media era?   This is a conversation in which I hope to engage my colleagues here at SUNY Korea and around the world.