Why a Book on Digital Development in Korea: Reason 3--Language

A third reason I can think of for co-authoring a book on Digital Development in Korea is language.  By that I mean to emphasize several points.  First, while there has been a great deal written about these developments in Korean media and scholarly journals, there is a lack of such information in English.  Second, my own ability to read, write and speak Korean has improved to a point where it motivated me toward a better effort to understand the 한국의정보사회.  There is little doubt in my mind that the language barrier alone explains in part the relative lack of international scholarly attention to Korea's remarkable developments.  Third, as our forthcoming book will explain, language is a key factor in explaining the distinctive pattern of South Korea's digital development. The popularity of Naver versus Google, for example.   And, of course, language and culture are ever so closely intertwined.  

Samsung's Galaxy Tab versus Apple's iPad

Ever since Steve Jobs recent public comments about the optimal size and other characteristics of tablet computing devices, I've been thinking occasionally about this matter.  One of the reasons I have not jumped to purchase an Apple iPad is its thickness and weight.  It is just a bit to heavy in your hands to be comfortable for reading e-books, magazines, and newspapers.  Heavier, that is, than a paper newspaper or a paperback book.

The Chosun Ilbo today covered the introduction of Samsung's Galaxy Tab, the 7" tablet that Steve Jobs critized.  While it is definitely lighter in weight, its problem is that the screen size doesn't permit a natural reading of books, newspapers or magazine articles.  The Chosun Ilbo's article does note one point that I strongly agree with.  Consumers will be the ultimate judge.  In my opinion, neither Apple nor Samsung are quite there yet, in terms of the form factor for  tablet-size computers or reading devices.   I see these emerging as lightweight and very much the size of the old print media.

Why a Book on Digital Development in Korea: Reason 2--History

A second major reason for co-authoring my forthcoming book with Dr. OH, Myung (Digital Development in Korea:  Building an Information Society) was the need for historical perspective on Korea's accomplishments.  This is the second post in my informal series on the reasons for the book.

If you're like me, you've read many industry or press reports that make it sound as though the information revolution occurred just within the past few months or perhaps years.  For example, many published reports about Korea's broadband infrastructure access and use begin the story in the mid-1990s or later.

The developments during South Korea's so-called "1980s telecommunications revolution" need to be included in the story to comprehend today's evolving information society here.   As of 1980, the nation suffered from a massive backlog in telephone service, its basic telephone network had only a few imported digital switches, and efforts to enter the semiconductor industry could be described as somewhat hit-and-miss.  The development of Korea's networks and its electronics sector during the 1980s was truly revolutionary.  It also laid the foundation and set precedents for developments in the 1990s and beyond, illustrating what economists refer to as the "on the shoulders of giants" characteristic of information.  That is, information is both an input and and output of its own production process.  As explained by Yochai Benkler in The Wealth of Networks, in order to write today's academic or news article, I need access to yesterday's articles and reports.  So it is with building advanced digital networks.  Also, the technology is continually changing, so that a long-term project to build a certain network over fifteen years might be shorted to ten years owing to technological change.