Communications services improved dramatically in the 1980s with the assistance of foreign partners and as a result of the development of the electronics industry. The number of telephones in use in 1987 reached 9.2 million, a considerable increase from 1980, when there were 2.8 million subscribers (which, in turn, was four times the number of subscribers in 1972).

Radio, and in more recent years television, reached virtually every resident. The Japanese established a radio station in Seoul in 1927; by 1945 there were about 60,000 radio sets in the country. By 1987 there were approximately 42 million radio receivers in use, and more than 100 radio stations were broadcasting. Transistor radios and television sets have made their way to the most remote rural areas. Television sets, now mass-produced in South Korea, became far less expensive; most city people and a significant number of rural families owned or had access to a television. Ownership of television sets grew from 25,000 sets when broadcasting was initiated in 1961 to an estimated 8.6 million sets in 1987, and more than 250 television stations were broadcasting.

Telephone

• Telephones - main lines in use: 26.6 million (2004)

• Telephones - mobile cellular: 40.0 million (2006) [1]

• Telephone system:
  • general assessment: excellent domestic and international services
  • domestic: NA
  • international: country code - 82; 10 fiber-optic submarine cables - 1 Korea-Russia-Japan, 1 Korea-Japan-Hong Kong, 3 Korea-Japan-China, 1 Korea-Japan-China-Europe, 1 Korea-Japan-China-US-Taiwan, 1 Korea-Japan-China, 1 Korea-Japan-Hong Kong-Taiwan, 1 Korea-Japan; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean) and 3 Inmarsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean)

See also: List_of_telephone_operating_companies#Korea.2C_South

The telephone is a telecommunications device which is used to transmit and receive sound (most commonly speech) across distance. ... Intelsat, Ltd. ... Inmarsat is an international telecommunications company founded in 1979, originally as an intergovernmental organization. ... This article or section is incomplete and may require expansion and/or cleanup. ...

Radio

• Radio broadcast stations: AM 61, FM 150, shortwave 2 (2005)

Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and/or video signals which transmit programs to an audience. ... Amplitude modulation (AM) is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. ... Frequency modulation (FM) is a form of modulation which represents information as variations in the instantaneous frequency of a carrier wave. ... A solid-state, analog shortwave receiver Shortwave radio operates between the frequencies of 3,000 kHz and 30 MHz (30,000 kHz) [1] and came to be referred to as such in the early days of radio because the wavelengths associated with this frequency range were shorter than those commonly...

Television

• Television broadcast stations: terrestrial stations 43; cable operators 59; relay cable operators 190 (2005)

Internet

• Internet hosts: 5.4 million (2004)

• Internet users: 33.9 million (2005)

(Total population: 48.8 million (July 2006 est.) It has been suggested that Languages on the Internet be merged into this article or section. ...

See also: Broadband Internet access worldwide#South Korea

• Country code (Top-level domain): KR

IT and Broadband Development This article is becoming very long. ...

Today, South Korea has the highest number of broadband users. The rapid growth of the Korean broadband market was the result of a combination of government pushes and market factors. The government was active in promoting privatization and deregulation in general, and the information technology (IT) sector was no exception.

The government implemented structural reforms in July of 1990. Since the mid-1990s, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has pursued a policy of high-speed telecommunication infrastructure as a foundation to build a “knowledge-based society.” In the telecommunications sector, competition was allowed on an incremental basis and, in the market for value added services, full competition was allowed. In March of 1995, Korea Information Infrastructure (KII) was established. KII’s goal was to advance the nation’s IT infrastructure. In August of 1995, the Framework Act on Information Promotion was enacted.

The country then experienced economic crisis in 1997 with the rest of the region. During the economic reforms being implemented after the financial crisis, the information technology (IT) sector was one of several that was targeted and considered to be an important factor in the recovery of the nation’s economy. In 1999, the government implemented the program known as Cyber Korea 21, which was intended to accelerate IT development.

In 1999, the government provided US$77 million in loans with preferential rates to facilities service providers (FSP). In 2000, another US$77 million was provided in loans for suburban areas, small cities and towns, and regional industrial areas. Another US$926 million was provided until 2005 in order to supply the rural areas with broadband.

Commensurate with its investment funding, the government implemented various policies designed to increase internet use among the general population. The government provided “internet literacy” lessons to homemakers, the elderly, military personnel, and farmers. In June of 2000, the government implemented what was known as the “Ten Million People Internet Education” project, the purpose of which was to provide internet education to ten million people.

Korea now has the highest penetration of broadband in the world. The number of broadband subscribers in Korea reached 10 million in October 2002, with about 70% out of 14.3 million homes connected at the speed of over 2 Mbit/s.

In 2002, there were six operators providing broadband services in Korea. The market share leader was Korea Telecom (KT), with approximately 45.8% market share (4.5 million subscribers), followed by Hanaro Telecom with approximately 28.6% of the market and Thrunet with approximately 13.1%. of the market. In terms of technology, KT primarily uses Digital Subscriber Line (DSL). Hanaro uses a mix of cable and DSL. Thrunet service is mainly provided through cable modem.

This article relied on information from:

Yun, Kyounglim, Heejin Lee and So-Hye Lim, The Growth of Broadband Internet Connections in South Korea: Contributing Factors, Asia/Pacific Research Center, Stanford University (Sept. 2002).

Choudrie, Jyoti and Heejin Lee, Broadband Development in South Korea: Institutional and Cultural Factors, European Journal of Information Systems v. 13, pp. 103-14 (2004).

See also

• List of Korea-related topics
• List of South Korean broadcasting networks
• Korean telephone numbering plan
• Ministry of Information and Communication

This is a list of Wikipedia articles on Korea-related people, places, things, and concepts. ... Below is a list of South Korean television broadcasting networks: EBS (Educational Broadcasting System) EBS TV EBS FM EBS Plus1 EBS Plus2 KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) KBS TV1 KBS TV2 KBS Radio 1 KBS Radio 2 KBS Radio 3 KBS FM 1 KBS FM 2 KBS Drama KBS Korea KBS... Country Code: 82 // Area codes Metropolitan Cities Seoul (02) Incheon (032) Daejeon (042) Busan (051) Ulsan (052) Daegu (053) Gwangju (062) Provinces Gyeonggi-do (031) Gangwon-do (033) Chungcheongnam-do (041) Chungcheongbuk-do (043) Gyeongsangbuk-do (054) Gyeongsangnam-do (055) Jeollanam-do (061) Jeollabuk-do (063) Jeju-do (064) See... The Ministry of Information and Communication or MIC is a ministry of the government of South Korea. ...

External Links

• Korean Cell Phones

References

• This article contains material from the Library of Congress Country Studies, which are United States government publications in the public domain.

• This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.