Internet Usage in Korea
- Edward Lin
- Nov 24, 2018
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 29, 2018
Synopsis: This essay mainly focuses on the use of internet in the Korean society using examples from the drama Chief Kim. This essay focuses on episode 13, 14, 15 and 16.
The use of internet has become absolute essential for the generations today. This is especially the case in Korea. Korea, a technology leader in the world with numerous electronic and software companies that provide enormous income for the country. In the drama Chief Kim, the use of internet in combination with the media were used to solve many problems as well as creating problems.
One of the major encounter that shows the power of internet is in episode 14, when Gim Seong-Yong overheard the conversation between Min-ji, a young TQ convenient store employee who is not getting paid on time with her manager. Gim Seong-Yong suggested her to gather other unpaid employees to file a complaint. Just few days later, Min-ji reported that she has gathered over 3000 people from social media to Gim Seong-Yong, who was surprised by the speed of recruitment. With only a 10 years age gap between these two characters, they have a completely different mindset regarding the use of internet. This tells us that Korea has a rapid advancement in the technology context. Korea is so advance that it is sometimes referred to as the “time machine” when talking about internet as they give the world a view of the future by hosting technology expo or events (Jin 2017, 723). For example, as discussed in lecture, Korea has the first eSports stadium opened in 2013 to host various eSports events when eSports have just started to be recognized worldwide. This kind of example will bring a positive image of Korea to the world which is beneficial to the country.
With the help from business operation team, the news of thousands of convenience store worker for TQ are not getting paid in full have spread widely all over Korea in nearly no time. With the pressure brought by the media, the chairman of TQ had no choice but to apologize to the public and return money to whom it belongs to. Ever since the beginning of when internet is introduced to the world, Korea has been ahead of most of other countries in terms of internet usage(Yang 2017, 740). With no surprise, Korea is still now one of the leader in the world to have most and fastest internet usage. This example perfectly relates the use of internet to media. Media use the internet as a platform to spread their stories. With the large number of internet users in Korea, the news will spread all over the nation in no time.
In conclusion, as one of the top country with fastest and highest quality internet, Korean citizens definitely get many benefits from it. However, there are still danger regarding internet safety. A general rule of thumb for internet safety is that always remember you will always leave a mark no matter where you have been on the internet just like how Chief Lee left a mark, an evidence rather, to solve the mystery and defeat TQ.
Word Count: 484
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Questions
1) Do you see an issue in the rapid growth of internet usage in Korea besides internet safety? What is it?
2) If we were to imagine the whole TQ as the Korean society. What do you think the uses of internet by various characters would symbolize?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------References
Jin, Dal Yong. "Construction of digital Korea: the evolution of new communication technologies in the 21st century." Media, Culture & Society 39, no. 5 (2017): 715-726.
Yang, Sunyoung. "Networking South Korea: Internet, nation, and new subjects." Media, Culture & Society 39, no. 5 (2017): 740-749.
Hey team,
Thanks a lot for responding to each other in your comments - I appreciate that several of you address cyber-bullying, and perhaps in the more specific context of anonymity, collectivism and shame culture. I also want to acknowledge the uniqueness of PC-bang culture as we discussed in lecture, and how it serves an interesting pseudo-daycare distraction kind of function for young children.
Internet growth in Korea does help in aiding the rapid flow of society. However, with increasing use of the internet comes the risks to personal privacy information. Especially among those who are inexperienced with using technology it may be harder to detect fraud and such. Moreover, as mention in class, young kids are spending a lot of their leisure time using these devices. Dr. Saeji mentions how kids would secretly use their parents information just to access these games online for longer periods of time. This prolong used of internet is addicting and distracting in regards to usage among kids. Although it may seem convenient, but it can be dangerous in several aspects if not utilized correctly.
When it comes to technology as well as internet quality and speed, Korea is no doubt one of the better countries that have advanced technology. Nowadays, there are many usages for the internet whether they are positive uses or negative uses. As Teodora mentioned, having access to the internet may cause cyber-bullying. As well, there may be some questionable sites that can hack your computer when you click on the link.
As for the second question, if TQ were to be imagined as the Korean society, I feel that it may show that a lot of people use the internet. Internet has become a huge part of our lives and it may seem odd to not have it with us.…
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