Position Paper 2: Digital Access to South Korea

South Korea

It's no secret that internet and digital access is an essential part to the daily lives of people living in the 21st century. In America, we have become dependent on the easily accessible resources at our fingertips, whether professionally, personally, or leisurely, and we are able to access quick and attainable information. In the world today, according to Digital.com, in comparison to the 7.83 billion people on earth, there are 4.66 billion internet users, 5.22 billion mobile phone users, and 4.20 social media users. These statistics provide evidence for the worldwide expansion of digital access. While some countries are not able to easily access the internet as well as Americans, there are still numerous countries around the world, advancing towards this digital age of global expansion.

                                                                                                   

BTS, Squid Game, Gangnam Style, and even Korean barbeque- whatever South Korea has displayed to the world, has consistently made an impact for years. The "Korean Wave" is no joke. As a person who was never interested in K-pop and is now a BTS fan- I can confirm the Wave has a powerful influence. Whether we are paying attention or not, South Korea has snuck up on the Western hemisphere, and hasn't stopped there. But how? 

While not the leading country in digital and internet access, South Korea is slowly growing their internet users, yearly. As of 2020, South Korea reported about 46.82 million internet users, increasing by an approximate of 5 thousand users. While their growth may be a slow increase, they don't let this decelerate their global impact.

South Korea, unlike their northern neighbor, is known for having one of the fastest internet networks around the world. Although we don't expect foreign countries to achieve this technological feat, South Koreans once again surprise us. 

South Korea has been a country of fashion moguls, entertainment producers, music pioneers, and is now one of strongest competitors for digital and internet access around the world. There are about 19 million households in South Korea, and about 95.1% of the population uses the internet. Not only do they produce a vast amount of digital access, about 97.6% of the population has a mobile device as well, which is the highest in the world.

While it may be easy to imagine spending a significant amount of time on your phone, it may be slightly difficult to imagine what people across the world may be using their digital access for. According to Digital.com, South Koreans enjoy spending time on YouTube, Kakaotalk, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter the most. While the most popular app for the country is YouTube, Kakaotalk records the most screen time for the social media users, averaging a total of 11.1 hours per month. 

Since Kakaotalk is a foreign concept to us, I will explain the newest information I received from the always reliable, internet. According to our favorite place for quick information about things we do not know, Kakaotalk is a "fast and multifaceted messaging app". Through this app you are able to send messages, videos, photos, voice notes, and locations, all for the low price of free. 

This app is a great example of the differences, even if slight, between our digital access and a foreign country's. 

South Korea is a powerhouse of digital creation and usage, and a growing global candidate for the fastest and most used internet. With the country's entertainment exports bringing attention and revenue to the advanced country, South Korea will continue to grow in their national and international standings of digital access.