Ever since moving here to teach English two years ago, Renck has had a high-speed Internet connection of 8 megabits per second -- only about average for a South Korean apartment, but nearly eight times the typical broadband speed in US households. He watches TV shows over this connection, creates multimedia projects for his class, and regularly updates a Weblog.
None of what he does is revolutionary; it just happens far faster than it would in America. And that's a little revolutionary all by itself.
"I didn't realise how much the Web had to offer until I got to Korea," said Renck, a programmer by training. "I couldn't appreciate it until I got here and saw what true high-speed access does to change your perception of how fast information truly moves."
For Americans, almost none of whom have access to speeds that Renck and many South Koreans take for granted, this difference is jarring. The United States considers itself the centre of technological innovation, yet South Korea has gone considerably further in making a mainstream reality out of the futuristic promises of bygone dot-com days.
Many US executives and policy makers are quick to dismiss the disparity, noting correctly that South Korea's densely populated areas have made it easier for telecommunications companies to offer extremely fast service to large numbers of people. But even with such geographic and demographic differences, the United States can learn some valuable lessons from South Korea's experience in jump-starting a broadband powerhouse.
The Seoul government's clearly articulated vision for modernising the country's infrastructure stands in stark contrast to the regulatory morass that has stunted development in US telecommunications for several decades. South Korea's policy -- the cornerstone of a national technology initiative to help revive a devastated economy -- has created true broadband competition, which in turn has helped prices fall and speeds rise.
Although its economy is still struggling, South Korea has made significant progress with many forms of digital technology. Citizens can get "video on demand" online, often even with high-definition video, for less than Americans pay to rent a DVD. Low-income students use high-speed Net connections to take free tutorials for the national aptitude test, an exam that can determine college admissions and future job paths.
Online gaming is a massive cultural phenomenon, with three TV channels dedicated to the subject and good players attaining the fame of American sports stars. In addition, South Koreans spent more than US$1.6 billion shopping online in the first quarter of 2004, or about twice as much per capita as US residents .
"The vision of a broadband society is already here in Korea," said Eric Kim, executive vice president of global marketing operations at Samsung Electronics. "We are two to three years ahead in wireless broadband, and people are using it, too."
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