Korea's RFID Plan

According to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Korea will introduce high-tech identification tags on steel, electronic and pharmaceutical products as part of its ongoing effort to enhance overall inventory control of its businesses.    As reported in the Joongang Daily, the effort, which will receive 5.1 billion won ($4.5 million) in state support, aims to attach radio frequency identification tags (RFID) and build related sensor network systems to maintain real-time accurate monitoring on various products.

The ministry said Posco plans to use 2 million tags on its steel products and help set up related information technology infrastructure for 17 affiliates. LG Electronics said 860,000 tags will be used within the year on its flat-panel displays, while another 5.9 million may be used next year on monitors.  The latest support measures are part of a larger effort by Korea to become one of the top three industry leaders in RFID and related sensor networks. 

KT to Seek Management Control of BC Card

In another symptom of the coming era of mobile broadband and ubiquitous networking, Korea Telecom has announced that it plans to buy a large stake in BC Card and eventually gain management control of the company.  According to the Joongang Daily, KT has already signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire Shinhan Card Co.'s 14.9 percent stake in BC Card (see graphic).  A spokesman for KT said that "We see a great possibility in creating synergy between telecommunication and finance."

An earlier post noted that e-business in Korea is mired in the past because of an overly-heavy reliance on Microsoft software, and legal requirements that led banks and other businesses to require the use of Microsoft's Internet Explorer and active-X controls for internet transactions.   Obviously, Korea Telecom is looking beyond the present situation to a future in which most Korean consumers will use mobile broadband via iPhone, Android or other handsets.  There are currently over 24 million mobile phones equipped with USIM (universal subscriber identity module) chips which can identify subscribers and store various content, including credit card information.  In addition, KT is reportedly mulling over new services in which a customer might search for a restaurant using their smart phone, pinpoint its location, and pay the bill using a credit card and coupons downloaded to the smart phone from web sites.

The mobile broadband era is coming to Korea, and it is going to arrive very fast, for the simple reason that consumers want mobility and they want these services, just as in other advanced countries around the world.

GE Global Ubiquitous Health R&D Center to be Established in Incheon

The Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) and the GE Healthcare and Bio Research Complex (BRC) have announced the signing of a five year plan to establish the GE Global Ubiquitous Health R&D Center in Incheon.   Under the agreement, GE Healthcare, a global leader in transformational medical technologies and services and BRC, a respected provider of gene analysis technology, will use the facility for research and development activities related to healthcare IT solutions.

GE has made a $6 billion dollar commitment, named Healthymagination, to the improvement of health care access, affordability, and quality through advanced technologies and R&D.  The Korean government and the IFEZ see the center as an opportunity to gain advanced clinical knowledge, build professional skills, and create jobs through healthcare IT, which is a mainstream green industry.  For a more detailed report, see your-story.org.

"Korea Connected" Documentary on Arirang Televison

Those of you interested in getting a taste of what is meant by the ubiquitous network environment being created in South Korea may want to view this half-hour documentary, entitled "Korea Connected."  It was first broadcast by Arirang Television this past June.  The link above will take you to the Arirang TV page that carries the documentary. 

Mobile Phones are Ubiquitous in Korea

The broadband revolution in Korea has received a great deal of attention, but on the 20th anniversary of South Korea's mobile telecommunications industry, it is appropriate to give mobile phones their due.   As the Korea Times noted in an article marking the occasion, mobile phones have long since become ubiquitos in this country.  The article reminded me of an occasion, five or six years ago, when my wife and I were spending our summer vacation on the island of Ullungdo.  We were having an afternoon snack in the main port city on the island and the view in front of us resembled a "sea of squid" as several women worked to hang the fresh catch of squid out to dry in the sun.  Right smack in the middle of this ocean of drying squid was an "ajuma," a towel wrapped around her head to protect it from the sun, talking to someone on a mobile phone.  That image has stuck with me for years. 

These days ownership of a mobile phone is considered to be the right of every Korean citizen.   Note the following quote from the Korea Times article. ``It is the coming-of-age day for the mobile phone. It is not just a means of communications anymore. It is the center of communication,'' said Kim Shin-bae, CEO of SK Telecom. ``It is not exaggerating to say that Korea's IT industry, which accounts for 29 percent of its gross domestic product, started from the spread of mobile phones.''  I respectfully disagree with the CEO that Korea's IT industry started from the spread of mobile phones, and think that historical evidence shows other sources of its rejuvenation.  However, there is no denying that mobile communication is a big part of the IT industry and the information revolution here.  In addition to being ubiquitous, mobile handsets have become the number one IT export from South Korea, currently exceeding the export volume of semiconductors.

Cutting the Cord: Mobile Telephone Growth in South Korea

An article in today's Joongang Ilbo notes the dramatic change in mobile communication that occurred in South Korea over the past two decades. Just looking at a picture of the mobile telephone that was introduced prior to the Seoul Olympics in 1988, one gets a clear understanding of why the term "brick" entered the vernacular here to describe older, bulky and heavy mobile handsets. The first mobile phones in Korea cost around 4 million won ($3,824), weighed 1.3 kilograms and were 23 centimeters long. It was only in 1996 that the size, weight and cost of mobile handsets in Korea allowed them to diffuse rapidly through the population. The bar graph included here shows that growth in popularity of mobile phones. Today, more than 90 percent of the people in South Korea own a mobile phone. This statistic only underscores the digital divide with North Korea, which just this year engaged Orascom to begin building mobile networks in its larger cities. The ubiquitous presence of mobile phones in South Korea their universal use here offers a little glimpse into the future of mobile handsets and the "ubiquitous networked society" that this nation is consciously building.