Another of My Books Available Full-View on Google Book Search

I'm please to let you know that my 1993 book with Heung Soo Park, Global Television and the Politics of the Seoul Olympics is now available full-view on Google books. It will take a few days before it is in the Google Books search engine and fully searchable, but for now you can read it on my own web site, and download a PDF version if you prefer.


http://jamesflarson.com/global-tv-pol-seouloly-main.html



Professor Park and I are delighted that this book is now available to a wider readership. The 1988 Seoul Olympics were a pivotal event for Korea and for its relationship with the rest of the world. In retrospect, it is even clearer now that they marked a distinct takeoff point for this country's ICT sector. Some of the reasons for that are discussed in the book. Enjoy

Samsung Launches Solar Cell Testing Facility

Today the Chosun Ilbo published a very interesting article on Samsung launching a solar cell R&D and testing facility.  Its eventual goal is the mass production of solar cells.   The sentence from the article that caught my attention was the following. "The company said it has raised its technological independence in solar cells to 85 percent by utilizing its expertise in LCDs and semiconductors." This is only one example of the diverse effects of having a strong ICT sector like that here in Korea.

More on the iPhone's Conspicuous Absence from the Korean Market

The Korea Times and other media reporting today that the long-delayed arrival of Apple's iPhone in the Korean market is being mulled over by the government.   The big hangup seems to be the current regulations governing location-based services in South Korea.

I would only point out that the delayed arrival of the iPhone, Android-based phones and other competitors here is, in a broad sense, detrimental to the health and future growth of Korea's mobile communications market.  The failure thus far of the major service providers to move in this direction is one reason that WiBro services are so slow to take off here. One cannot help but surmise that, once people in Korea get a taste of iPhone and Android applications, they will also demand greater speed, and that is precisely what future WiBro equipped devices will provide.

Today's news makes it appear unlikely that Korea will see an iPhone this year, but that is only my speculation.