Hangeul and Korea's Information Society

Tomorrow, it turns out, is the 563rd anniversary of the promulgation of Hangeul by King Sejong. An opinion piece in the Korea Times provides some interesting background, but I'd like to emphasize a bit more, in relation to the central focus of this blog.

• Because the Korean alphabet is so scientific and phonetic, it was an important factor in accelerating the uptake of computers, mobile phones and all sorts of digital electronic devices here.


• It is possible to type much faster on a hangeul computer keyboard than on a qwerty English keyboard--much faster! Just watch any reasonably skilled Korean typing and you'll see what I mean.


• Because Hangeul is alphabetic, it was conducive to the rapid development and growth of the graphics industry, which began back in the 1980's. Some of us remember when there were no Korean fonts, only calligraphy.


• Literacy is an essential requirement for the information society and Hangeul helped promote it in Korea. For years now, South Korea has had near-universal literacy.

On the occasion of Hangeul's 563rd anniversary, it is well to remember the above points. People from North America or Europe frequently lump the Korean alphabet in with Chinese and Japanese and assume that it is a pictographic writing system. To the contrary, it is alphabetic, scientific and an important factor in explaining the rapid digital development in Korea over the past three decades or so!

Happy New Year and an Update!

This is just a note to let readers of this blog know that I'm alive and well. In addition to my full-time work at the Fulbright Commission, I've been working on a book project.  Those of you who have written books or contemplate doing so know that it is an entirely different dynamic and medium than blog posting, magazine or print journalism.  I think the medium of the book, just like television, will be around for many years to come.  A far larger proportion of the books may be read over the internet or using electronic readers, but even the printed version will be preferred by some people for a long time to come.

Furthermore, the book I'm working on deals with Korea's efforts to build an information society, starting back in the 1980s.  Addressing this topic in a book, rather than other possible formats, has the advantage of forcing one to look at developments as an evolving historical process.

I'll be back to semi-regular posting soon.   Happy New Year!

Social Effects of New Communications: Digital Alzheimers?

The English edition of the Chosun Ilbo today carried news of a new malady, termed "digital Alzheimers."  A doctor with a large university hospital said, “There are no statistics, but the number of young workers who visit hospitals for forgetfulness counseling is definitely on the rise.”  Experts say more and more workers in their 20s and 30s suffer from forgetfulness due to the flood of information that assaults them in the office and their growing dependency on digital devices. Some seek treatment in hospitals when the symptoms get worse. Doctors even have a name for it: Digital Alzheimer’s Disease, a condition they say now afflict modern urbanites just like migraine or insomnia. Somehow, from my personal experience I can identify with the "flood of information" part of the argument, and also the increasing dependency on digital devices.   More on this one in later posts.