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!
Jumat, 09 Januari 2009
Selasa, 23 Desember 2008
Some Year-end Thoughts on the "Information Superhighway"
As far as I can determine from my own research, it was U.S. Vice President Al Gore who gave a speech at UCLA in 1994 that popularized the term "information superhighway." In that speech, he outlined the Clinton/Gore administration's vision of a national information infrastructure and their proposals for creating it. He said, in part.
"We have become an information-rich society. Almost 100% of
households have radio and television, and about 94% have telephone
service. Three-quarters of all households have a VCR, about 60% now
have cable, and roughly 30% of households have personal computers.
As the information infrastructure expands in breadth and depth,
so too will our understanding of the services that are deemed
essential. This is not a matter of guaranteeing the right to play
video-games. It is a matter of guaranteeing access to essential
services.
We cannot tolerate -- nor in the long run can this nation
afford -- a society in which some children become fully educated and
others do not; nor can we tolerate a society in which some adults have
access to training and lifetime education, and others do not.
Nor can we permit geographic location to determine whether the
information highway passes by your door."
Elsewhere in his speech, Vice President Gore alluded to the fact that he had coined the "information superhighway" term fifteen years earlier!
Having lived in Korea for the past 12 years, I have enjoyed the benefits of a government-led effort that actually built the "information superhighway." Yes it did. The Korean government took its cue from Gore's speech and in 1995 implemented a plan to build the Korea Information Infrastructure (KII). The government plans unabashedly used the "information superhighway" term in referring to Korea's goal.
So, the idea for the "information superhighway" seems to originally have come from Al Gore. However, the important point seems to be that the highway has been built and is being expanded in South Korea, while it is still a matter for debate in the U.S. The major current expansion of the "information superhighway" network in Korea is via WiBro, which adds an interesting new mobile dimension to accessibility.
"We have become an information-rich society. Almost 100% of
households have radio and television, and about 94% have telephone
service. Three-quarters of all households have a VCR, about 60% now
have cable, and roughly 30% of households have personal computers.
As the information infrastructure expands in breadth and depth,
so too will our understanding of the services that are deemed
essential. This is not a matter of guaranteeing the right to play
video-games. It is a matter of guaranteeing access to essential
services.
We cannot tolerate -- nor in the long run can this nation
afford -- a society in which some children become fully educated and
others do not; nor can we tolerate a society in which some adults have
access to training and lifetime education, and others do not.
Nor can we permit geographic location to determine whether the
information highway passes by your door."
Elsewhere in his speech, Vice President Gore alluded to the fact that he had coined the "information superhighway" term fifteen years earlier!
Having lived in Korea for the past 12 years, I have enjoyed the benefits of a government-led effort that actually built the "information superhighway." Yes it did. The Korean government took its cue from Gore's speech and in 1995 implemented a plan to build the Korea Information Infrastructure (KII). The government plans unabashedly used the "information superhighway" term in referring to Korea's goal.
So, the idea for the "information superhighway" seems to originally have come from Al Gore. However, the important point seems to be that the highway has been built and is being expanded in South Korea, while it is still a matter for debate in the U.S. The major current expansion of the "information superhighway" network in Korea is via WiBro, which adds an interesting new mobile dimension to accessibility.
Selasa, 16 Desember 2008
World Media Take Notice of North Korea's New Mobile Network
Now that the Chairman of Orascom has visited North Korea and that country has formally initiated its new mobile communications service, the media around the world are taking notice. According to BBC News , the system has now been launched in the capital, Pyongyang, by Orascom's billionaire chief executive Naguib Sawiris. "The prospect of this company is to build a network that will accommodate the 22 million people in North Korea," he said.
The BBC report goes on to note that "The new network will be able to provide fast internet connections and handle large quantities of information. However, that is a commodity the North Korean authorities have been extremely anxious to restrict.
Radios and televisions sold there have their tuning controls fixed to official stations and making phone calls out of North Korea is impossible for ordinary citizens."
The North Korean leadership is caught on the horns of a dilemma. It now has a modern, CDMA-based mobile network that could be expanded throughout the country and used to help bring it up to parity with its highly networked neighbor to the south. Such a move would help it immensely in economic terms and would help move toward reunification. However, it would also undercut, in one fell swoop, efforts by North Korea's leadership to control the information its citizens receive.
A very interesting aspect of all this is that North Korea has installed a CDMA network. Is this an indication that they may be looking ahead toward unification with South Korea, which has the most extensive and sophisticated CDMA-based mobile networks in the world? Just how long will people in North Korea be able to resist the various attractions of the information age that is transforming so much of the world?
The BBC report goes on to note that "The new network will be able to provide fast internet connections and handle large quantities of information. However, that is a commodity the North Korean authorities have been extremely anxious to restrict.
Radios and televisions sold there have their tuning controls fixed to official stations and making phone calls out of North Korea is impossible for ordinary citizens."
The North Korean leadership is caught on the horns of a dilemma. It now has a modern, CDMA-based mobile network that could be expanded throughout the country and used to help bring it up to parity with its highly networked neighbor to the south. Such a move would help it immensely in economic terms and would help move toward reunification. However, it would also undercut, in one fell swoop, efforts by North Korea's leadership to control the information its citizens receive.
A very interesting aspect of all this is that North Korea has installed a CDMA network. Is this an indication that they may be looking ahead toward unification with South Korea, which has the most extensive and sophisticated CDMA-based mobile networks in the world? Just how long will people in North Korea be able to resist the various attractions of the information age that is transforming so much of the world?
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