Vision 2008

Transcription

Vision 2008

March 2008 / Vol. 45
www.ittimes.co.kr
Korea’s No.1 Information Technology Journal
What lies ahead for
Korean IT in a new political era?
The world goes
Cover Story
The Future of Display Stereoscopic 3D
Presidential Inauguration Special
Recommendations
Vision 2008
Exclusive Interview Series
u-life
ezCaretech
Are we at war on cyberspace?
U.S. $9.00 / KOR.
8,500
03
ISSN 1739-2950
Th C
e o
(S w ve
ee or r
Pa ld Sto
ge g
r
s oe y
18 s
-2 3
1) D
3rd~6th Floor, Seoul Metropolitan Facilities Management Corporation B/D, 540, Cheonggyecheono, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, Korea (133-050) Government registration No. Seoul-Ra-10914 Tel: (82-2)3459-0664~0665 Fax.:(82-2)515-2719
Vision 2008
Contents
March 2008 / Vol. 45
Graphic Design _ Lee Do-won
22 New President
26 Recommendations
16 Editorial
Can Korea Cope Without A Technology Ministry?
35
17 Analysis
YouTube Still Desperately Seeking Korean Success
18 Cover Story
The Future of Display - Stereoscopic 3D
The world is not flat.
22 President
New President Means New Hope for Korea
26 Presidential Inauguration
Recommendations / Local government
Incheon to Stand at the Forefront of Economic Resolution
27 Busan to Take a Leap into the Future
Recommendations
28 Chin Dae-je - ex MIC minister, KT President
29 Korea Association of Robotics, Chairman of KVBA
30 Medical IT - ezCaretech
Digital Industry - Core Logic
Telecoms - DTVInteractive
Games Industry- Wemade
31 Games Industry- Joymax
Software - Adobe Korea
UCC-Pandora TV
Storage- 3Gen Data Systems Korea
Tourism
Korea Tourism Organization Wrapping Paper for Korea
1 4 _ March 2008 KOREA IT TIMES
Opinion
The Great Canal and Technology s Role
Overview - Vision 2008
36 Vision 2008
Telecommunications and Broadcasting
Digital TV- Making Buses Everywhere More Dangerous
37 Internet
Video Chief Hopes for Government Breaks
38 Vision 2008
Online Games
Games Industy Fights for Survival
40 Digital Industry
Core Logic's "Core" Business Plan
42 Software
Adobe - "We'll Enrich the Net"
43 Solutions
Global Partnership Starts to Pay Off
44 Storage Solutions
3Gen Data Systems Korea - storage solutions
46 U-life
ezCaretech and the Sisyphean Challenge
28 Recommendations
54 Interview
The Changing Face Of Korea in Turkey
56 Contribution
Time to Go Back to Basics
50 Local Government
Busan Metropolitan Government
52 Contribution
Is the World at Cyber war?
Kim Tae -sub
Han Kon- ju
Chung Youn-boo
Vice President
Advisor
Vice President
Editor-in-Chief
Editor
Huh Pyung-youn
Chang Hong-yul
Kim Byung-woo
Monica Chung
Tim Alper/tim
Supplement Director
Managing Editor
Editorial Director
TA
HYI
CGE
IT Industry Editors
58 Exhibition
Smaller Businesses Hope to Reap CeBIT Benefits
60 In-depth Report
How is IT transforming Korea?
62 Design At Any Cost?
64 SK, KT and LG Telecom play StarCraft II
66 Essay
Brave New World Not To Everyone s Liking
68 Spotlight
Korean Energy Company Powers Up the Philippines
70 Tourism
Blooming Paradise for Sightseeing in Mud Flat, Incheon
72 An Investment Destination Like No Other
74 News in Brief
48 Academia
Korea Polytechnic University
e-mail: [email protected]
Chairman & Publisher
Executive Advisor
President-Publisher
75 Real-Time News
Asiana to use RFID in Baggage Handling
76 Korean language hits the Louvre
77 Young Artists Given Room to Exhibit in Seoul Hotel
78 How to ...
Shop Online Safely
Kim Joo-hyung
Yeo Hong-il
Chun Go-eun/toclair
Lee Kyong-hwan
Lee Chung-moo
Jeon Kyung-sook
Koo Won-hum
Staff Reporters
KHS
KEJ
Freelance Reporters
KKW
Photographer
Advertising Manager
Art Director
Designers
Internet Manager
Ki Hee-sung/hskih
Kim Eun-jeong/aceellie
Yeon Choul-woong
Lee Kyung-min
Ko Ki-wan
Cho Eun-jung
Kim Eun-sil
Dondu Sarisiik
Matthew Weigand
Shin Sung-won
Jude Kim
Lee Do-won
Cho Hee-sang
Bok Dong-kyu
Business Manager
Circulation Manager
Administration Manager
Sales & Marketing Manager
Publication Team Manager
Kim Chang-ho
Park Mi-jung
Kim Si-hwan
Yoon Jong-jin
Ko Yeon-sang
Financial Auditor
Financial Secretory
Choi Eun-kyung
Cho Hye-kyung
Correspondents
N.America
Europe
Southeast Asia
Far East
China
Oceania
SW Asia
M.East
James Joo young-hoon
Choi Young-zun. Lee Sung-ki
Lee Jin-bok
Kim Moon-soo
Chun Jong-sung
You In-kyung
Choi Duk-hee
Chung Jung-ja
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Editorial
Can Korea Cope Without A Technology
Ministry?
T
he 600 year-old Namdaemun Gate in Seoul burned
to the ground last month, with only a few days to go
before President Lee Myung-bak took office. Experts
hope that this is not a bad omen for the incoming Korean
executive.
At the same time, the powers that be, or used to be, are
issuing warnings to the new administration. Minister of
Science and Technology Kim Woo-sik is in a precocious
situation. The Ministry he governs over is about to be
effectively disbanded by the Lee administration, who will
divide the work done by the old bureau between three
different ministries.
Indeed, Kim has been in the news, making headlines by
imploring Lee not to undo all the good work of the Ministry.
He said, "Korean economic growth cannot be separated
from science and technology development."
And he may have a point. Science and Technology duties
will now be performed by ministers and civil servants
running the education, finance and industry ministries.
But with Lee s "747" plan in action, there are many who
fear that the finance and industry ministries may have their
hands full with other matters in the near future. According
to the 747 action plan, the new government will ensure 7%
growth, a GDP growth of $40,000 per capita and make the
country the World s seventh largest economy. All of this
sounds very nice, but with Korea s economy a mainly
export-driven one, the Industry Ministry will be an
especially busy place in the very near future.
All this business about GDP and growth per capita sounds
like numbers to me, so that will be dealt with by the finance
people, who are usually far too busy to spend much time
with things like developing better semiconductors and
things like that.
Which leaves us with the Education Ministry. Lee Myungbak has reiterated his desire to overhaul the Korean
education system, and introduce lessons in English, as
well as try to get more ethnic Koreans living abroad to
come to Korea to teach. That does not fit in too well with
regulations requiring all foreign teachers to go through
complex police and health checks before being granted
teaching visas, which may also end up causing the
education ministry extra paperwork.
So if the education people are too busy with their affairs,
what happens to poor little Science and Technology?
The answer is key to the future of the Korean economy.
Lee was elected on the promise of boosting the coffers of
Korea, and on the basis of his extensive business
experience with Hyundai.
The unique difference between Korea and its IT
competitors was the existence of a specialised ministry
which dealt with electronic matters. Other countries find
even the idea of having a national IT policy almost
impossible to imagine.
Indeed, perhaps Lee will allow IT companies to find their
own way on the free market, as is done in most countries.
Samsung and LG do not the government to hold their
hands, they are perfectly capable of finding their own way.
Analysis
YouTube Still Desperately Seeking Korean Success
The battle for the eyes and ears of UCC users still rages as
Korean companies fight to keep hold of their own markets.
E
ver since Google began on its quest to take over
the digital world, it has been met by an infuriating
pocket of resistance in South Korea. It must seem
to them an obstinate little country, not unlike the village the
Roman Empire could not conquer in the Asterix comics
familiar to Europeans.
Wondergirls , the
teen pop favourites,
Google was hoping to
gain some popular
support for its video
services.
When it comes to all things IT, it is well-documented that
Korea likes to be different. We don t use Windows Media
Player to watch videos, we use Gom player, we don t like
MSN Messenger, Nate On is much better. And most
importantly, when it comes to search engines, Naver
trumps Google any day of the week.
Google must be asking
themselves just where they are
going wrong. Is there some big Korean
secret to success they are not being let in on?
In terms of the global stage, Naver s presence in Korea is
almost impossible to understand. With superior
technology, research and development, Google has blown
much bigger fish than Naver out of the water before.
Lycos, Altavista, Webcrawler, these have all fallen by the
wayside as Google continues to expand, at the expense of
the rest.
But of course the smaller IT enterprises do need extensive
government support if they are to succeed where other
countries smaller IT enterprises might fail.
But however hard they try, Naver is still the search engine
of choice for almost every Korean alive.
With the three ministries all clearly with other fish to fry, will
a boost in personnel and budget for them really be enough
to give them the boost they need in the cut-throat world IT
market?
Yet Google s latest plaything, YouTube.com, the world s
biggest online User Created Content (UCC) site, is one
arm of the American company Google are determined
must succeed in Korea.
Surely, President Lee will not let the country s most
significant export, IT, flounder at the expense of a little
bureaucratic shake-up.
Time and money have been poured into Reasearch and
Development as YouTube executives desperately try to
make headway into the elusive Korean market.
That said, Korean businesses could do with a little
clarification as to just how those already busy ministries
are going to handle the Korean IT industry now the
Ministry of Science and Technology has been consigned
to Korea s political Recycle Bin. Technology must not
become the next Namdaemun, another Korean tragedy of
this size simply must be avoided.
At present, sites like Panadora TV, Mncast and Gom TV
rule the Korean market, and local users post and view
digital content on these sites, rather than bothering with
whatever YouTube has to offer.
So YouTube has just released a Korean version amid
much pomp, ceremony and marketing. With celebrities on
board YouTube Korea like Park Jin-young, founder of
However, the simple truth is that these smaller Korean
companies have no special magic potions, they are just
smaller, more adaptable, and designed especially to cope
with the Korean market.
They are not looking to export their products to far-flung
lands. They just want to be number one in Korea. It is a
humble aim, but one which allows them more focus than
their bloated American competition.
Jason Hahn, reporter at Ohmynews International, puts it
like this, Not only was Pandora TV born and groomed in
Korea, but it also has a better approach to the subtleties of
Korean culture. Examples of this may be as small as
design differences, or may be as big as particular
language barriers, but they are definitely there.
Hahn adds that this is not the first time Google has run into
difficulties because of strong domestic competitors.
Baidu, the dominant search engine in China, is a prime
example. Google has not been able to make much of a
dent in Baidu's armour either.
Hahn is optimistic about Google s chances in the long run,
though. He says, I think YouTube has a chance of
success in Korea, although any progress in the market will
take time, because it is not the first of its kind in the
market. Korea is a logical hotbed for the online video and
UCC craze.
TA
KOREA IT TIMES March 2008 _ 1 7
Cover Story
3D Display
glasses, with the development of digital technologies and the emergence of
high-definition display.
The Future of Display Stereoscopic 3D
The world is not flat.
Would music lovers accustomed to stereo ever go back to mono?
3D video users will never go back to a flat world either. The world
will never be flat again.
ext-generation display technology follows image technologies, going from black
and white, through color, to HD
level. It projects superior pictures,
by giving the images depth, projected in front of the screen, in a
way that works almost identical to
normal human sight.
N
One of the biggest upsets in U.S. film
history happened in early February.
A stereoscopic 3D concert film of
teenage American singers Hannah
Montana and Miley Cyrus tour, entitled, Hannah Montana and Miley
Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert
was ranked first in the U.S. box office
earnings on its first week of showing.
The reason why this film made so
many headlines was that it was a
stereoscopic 3D film, and made a
remarkable box office record, with
earnings of as much as 31 million dollars at 683 screens nationwide. The
Eye, ranked second during the same
week, recorded unexpectedly poor
sales of more than 12 million dollars at
2,436 screens nationwide.
In this regard, the box-office profits of
the film Hannah Montana and Miley
Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert
also achieved astonishing results.
Beowulf 3D , released last year in
Korea, has achieved a similarly
record-breaking status.
The film, directed by Robert
Zemeckis, the director of the hit films
such as Polar Express and Back to
the Future succeeded in drawing in
as many as 0.9 million viewers in
Korea. A survey showed that among
them, 130,000 people, 15 percent of
the total number of cinema audiences,
viewed the 3D film.
Considering that the total number of
first-run theaters for the film
Beowulf , including 3D screen theaters, was no more than 370. It
showed that 3D films are getting more
and more popular here. In addition, all
theater and film stakeholders were
encouraged by the additional growth
in admission charges, as 3D screens
more than doubled their profits.
Recently, many experts have begun a
discussion on how to improve display
culture, the next generation display
that follows the image technologies,
such as black and white, color, and
now high-definition.
We now live in an era when media is
undergoing rapid changes - from listening-based to watching-based
media, and to a sensitive media that
even carries customer satisfaction.
Undergoing evolution of imaging and
advanced technologies, human eyes
are no longer satisfied with flat
images. It seems that as of now, we
need to pay due attention to stereoscopic 3D image.
A stereoscopic 3D image is a technology of presenting an image based on
binocular disparity, and giving the
images depth, and projected in front
of the screen, most similar to natural
human sight.
The scientist and painter Leonardo da
Vinci discovered that the two human
eyes can have a sense of depth by
receiving different sight information
respectively. Since then, there have
been many new developments in this
field, over a long period of time.
We can also enjoy stereoscopic 3D
images without the need for special
Monkeys do not fall from the branches of a
tree, even though they move freely in the
tree. That is because they have a clear
awareness of the distance due to front-oriented eye sight. Species with a side-oriented eye sight, such as birds, have no ability
to recognize 3D.
3D films are set to dominate the
landscape of the film industry.
Some world-renown directors,
such as Steven Spielberg, are planning to produce 3D films and
release them soon. Stereoscopic
3D digital cinema will pass the
20,000 mark worldwide within three
years.
It seems that the trade winds blowing
3D film on are strong, as 3D returns to
make a mark in the world of modern
movies. Mike Campbell, Co-Chief
Executive Officer of the Regal
Entertainment Group and CEO of its
theatre operations, emphasized his
ideas at an academic conference,. He
said, 3D films will lay a firm foundation for the promotion of the whole
new film industry, based on the boxoffice records of the 3D films released
so far.
As a matter of fact, the number of 3D
cinemas in the United States has
increased rapidly from 100 in 2006 to
700 now. It is also expected to grow
more than 6,000 in the next three
years. Korea is in a similar situation.
Stereoscopic 3D digital theater systems were introduced to the theaters
for the first time in late 2006. Now
experts say that the number of system will amount to as many as 400
screens in three years. At present,
there are 36 screens.
released in 2009, as a start for the
new venture.
Film producers, distributors, theaters, and audiences have demonstrated an enormous satisfaction
with the results of 3D film technology.
How can a 3D film be such a huge
success and also
change the landscape
for the film industry?
Why is 3D expanding
so fast?
From the perspectives
of producers, theaters,
and audiences, what
producers want first
and foremost is to
realize the differentiated images and boost
profits. The art of mak3D Film promotional material at Hong Kong International Airport
ing movies is also progressing everyday.
However, 3D images
which present the same image as
The
Four 3D films, including
natural human sight is a magical
Nightmare Before Christmas and
method by which producers can creChicken Little , presented by Walt
ate an idealistic image, which is much
Disney Pictures, have already been
more than what they dreamed of. 3D
released worldwide. Last year, the 3D
films can be relatively easily protected
blockbuster Beowulf , directed by
from piracy - a major problemfor
Robert Zemeckis, premiered on 800
Hollywood film makers. In addition, it
screens around the world.
can raise high profits, by investing a
minimum of additional production
In addition, famous directors in
costs.
Hollywood such as Peter Jackson,
and James Cameron are now produc3D films can bring more benefits to
ing 3D new films, which will be on
theaters. Recently, theaters have
release in 2008 or 2009. The biggest
seen their market share pinched due
blockbusters of the past , such as Star
to the development of home entertainWars,
Aliens,
King
Kong,
ment. In response, they are expected
Transformers, and Terminator , are
to devise new methods to attract more
also set to be remade into 3D films for
customers, different from home
immanent re-release.
HDTV. 3D film is the answer that theaters are looking for. In addition,
Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive of
admission fees, which are at maxiDreamWorks Animation, announced
mum 50% more expensive than 2-D
recently that all his films will be profilms, is making huge contributions to
duced based on 3D technology. He
boosting box office revenues.
announced of a new 3D film,
Monsters vs. Aliens
be
sales, with a view to maximizing synergy effects.
The two companies KDC and
masterImage succeeded in developing a stereoscopic 3D digital theater
system for the second time in the
world in 2006, which shook the world
s film industry. In the meantime, Real
D, which was the first American developer of the 3D digital theater system,
monopolized the world s market.
A panoramic view of Telson, a subsidiary of the KDC
Group, which is a producer of the stereoscopic 3D digital
theater system.
Customers will be deeply moved by
films, more than ever, due to a whole
new image on the screen, a kind that
they have never seen before.
In this regard, 3D films in various sectors will be on the increase, driven by
interest and necessity. New production methods and image processing
technologies will encourage the emergence of a new huge market, which
will serve to create a new image culture in our times.
The KDC Group and masterImage
are among the world s leading 3D
image technology groups, and are
in pole postion when it comes to all
things 3D.
Korea s research on 3D image-based
technologies was initiated with the
participation of such a state-owned
research institute as the Electronics
and Telecommunications Research
Institute (ETRI) in 2002. Leading companies in the private sector are KDC
Corp. and masterImage.
Founded in 1972, this year marks the
36th anniversary of its establishment
as Korea s leading IT company. KDC
has four subsidiaries, listed on
Kosdaq in 1996. The overall sales of
the KDC Corp, an IT enterprise of
middle standing, amounted to more
than $1.1 hundred million, employing
a staff of 800 people.
KDC has decided to put priority on the
next-generation display business as a
new growth engine in 2004, and has
joined forces to make inroads to the
display market in close collaboration
with masterImage, a professional 3D
enterprise.
Launched with the participation of
influential engineers in the 3D sector,
masterImage has secured core technology with regard to stereoscopic 3D
images. Currently, KDC Corp.
is the biggest shareholder of
masterImage. KDC and
masterImage joined hands to
lay a firm foundation in the following fields , product development, production, and
The stereoscopic 3D digital theater
system co-developed by KDC and
masterImage has been already
offered to the following Asian countries - Hong Kong, Taiwan, the
Philipines and also Korea. Recently, it
has been also installed to in the
Cinemark cinema in Oregon. In addition, the system enabled customers to
enjoy the following films - The
Nightmare Before Christmas 3D; Meet
the Robinsons
3D; Beowulf
3D;
and
Hannah
Montana
and Miley
Cyrus: Best
of Both Worlds
Concert
3D.
Some of them
are still showing.
Stereoscopic 3D digital theater system
Additionally,
KDC
and
masterImage signed a partnership deal with Kinoton, a leading provider of the digital cinema equipment and services in
Europe, greatly contributing to
making inroads into the
European market in the nearest
future. KDC and masterImage
are also negotiating terms and
conditions with cinema business people in more than 20
countries, such as China, India,
Thailand, and Malaysia.
The conformity of the product
has largely improved, based on
the use of single projectors, and
a single circular polarized rotary
filter. The product makes it possible to present stereographic
3D image comfortably. In fact,
this technology has many advantages over other products, in terms of
excellent level of brightness. It is easy
to install, and can be provided at a relatively reasonable price compared to
other products.
Recently, both companies have
released new Full HD beam splitter
cameras for the cinema production to
be used in the film and broadcasting
sectors for the first time in Korea. In
the meantime, the previous stereoscopic 3D digital cameras had to be
arranged horizontally, which means
that two cameras were installed parallel with each other. Therefore, the digital theater cameras previously used
in the broadcasting and film industries
could not adjust the distance between
two cameras freely, the cameras just
presented image in qualities below the
professional level, such as for people
making short films or for domestic
use.
However, the Full HD beam splitter
camera for cinema production developed by the two companies this time
was designed based on beam splitter
method,vertically for one camera and
dimensional effects of the
image makes viewers feel
excited, as if they were in the
film. It can make people feel as
if their chairs were rocking, the
wind was blowing, and water
splashing.
We now live in an era going
from watching images to
watching and feeling images.
Many display experts expect
that 3D digital industries will
continue to take quantum
leaps of this sort with the passing of every year.
View of Full HD beam splitter cameras for cinema production
by KDC and masterImage - the beam splitter method of using
a camera and a unified 3D monitor.
horizontally for the other. Thus, digital
theater cameras which are designed
for broadcasting and film-making are
available. In addition, close-shot and
artificial control of three-dimensional
effects can enable the free realization
of 3D images, which will eradicate the
root cause of dizziness. Stereoscopic
3D monitors are arranged in one system, which will enable people to check
the dimensional images in realtime
while photographing.
We live in an era of sensitive
media that carries customer
satisfaction, shifting from the
simple role of media.
Undergoing such innovative
evolution, our eyes will no longer
be satisfied with the plain and ordinary
2D image.
KHS
The company released a 3D kiosk
product, which can enable people to
enjoy high-definition stereoscopic 3D
images by installing camera lobbies,
shopping malls, and amusement
parks. The product will present movie
trailers of 3D films in advance, after
being installed in a cinema s box
office. Equipped with a coin and bill
payment function, it is also expected
to raise additional revenue.
The Future of the 3D digital image
A 3D film screened for visitors on a
tour of America’s Universal Studios
presents hands-on experiences. The
3D Kiosk
President
Inauguration
New President
President and
and his
his
New
Scarlet Philosophy
Philosophy Means
Means
Scarlet
New Hope
Hope for
for Korea
Korea
New
Lee Myung-bak won a landslide victory in
elections last year, and he has now taken up the
reins of power.
Chun Go-eun takes a closer look at Korea's
new man in charge.
A
new dawn has risen with President Lee Myung-bak.
Not only is President Lee known for his optimism
and firmness, similar to the character Scarlet, in
Gone with the Wind, he is also the man who changed
poverty into hope.
The election campaign was a modern American Civil War
between the ruling party and minority parties. The fierce
presidential nomination process of the Grand National
Party and many scandals have rocked popular faith in him.
During the two years leading up to his election victory, Lee
was subjected to brutal and personal attacks from the ruling party. In the course of the negative offensive, Lee's personal life was laid completely bare.
Determination
He persevered through the many ordeals patiently with a
strong belief on the positive outcome, and finally the people
gave him a stamp of approval. In the presidential election
on December 19, 2007, Lee garnered 48.7 percent of the
total ballets, approaching one half of total votes cast. He
won 22.5 percent more votes than his closest competitor,
Chung Dong-young of the United New Democratic Party
associated with the incumbent administration.
President Lee Myung-bak was inaugurated as the 17th
President of the Republic of Korea on February 25, 2008.
And his other barefoot journey with his friend, hope, begins
with him donating his assets to the state.
Here is a summary of a biography of President Lee Myungbak according to notes on the Blue House website:
President Lee Myung-bak was born on December 19, 1941
to a poor cattle farm laborer. He had to start working to help
support his destitute family when he was still in elementary
school. He continued to work his way through high school
by selling such things as rice snacks, fruit, fish and clothes
from street stalls. By doing so, he was finally able to finish
night classes at Dongji Commercial High School in
Pohang, a port city in south-eatern Korea.
In recalling the past, he said, "The chronic poverty that
haunted my large family never disappeared until after I was
in my 20s." Even though he put himself through Korea
University by working as a street cleaner, he never let go of
hope.
Lee Myung-bak(left) with outgoing President Roh Moo-hyun at the
new President’s inauguration in February
able accomplishments. His devotion rewarded him and
gave him rapid promotion to the position of director within
five years and then CEO of Hyundai Engineering and
Construction after only 12 years.
At that time, he was 35 years old. While working in the
Hyundai Group, he developed a cosmopolitan mindset as a
leading CEO in Korea through establishing a human network with international dignitaries, including Prime Minister
Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, Prime Minister Mahathir bin
Mohamad of Malaysia, President Jiang Zemin of China and
President Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union.
He also crossed the world to build various magnificent
structures, including the Penang Bridge in Malaysia and a
thermal power plant in Iraq. Lee Myung-bak has long been
the talisman of salaried workers, in particular.
Lee Myung-bak took up politics in 1992 as a proportional
representative of the New Korea Party in the 14th National
Asseembly after wrapping up a 27-year career with the
Hyundai Group. In 1996, he was elected to the National
Assembly defeating outgoing President Roh Moo-hyun in
the Jongno district in Seoul.
Subsequently, he declared his candidacy for the election of
Seoul Mayor in 2002. Despite strong oppression from the
ruling party of that time and low approval ratings in the
early surveys, he won the election. The challenging spirit of
Lee Myung-bak as a politician began to attract keen attention from the public. After the election, he vowed, "I will give
Seoul a complete makeover." Honoring his pledge, he
began to implement his plans one by one.
A New Seoul
The Business World
After graduating from university, he joined Hyundai
Engineering and Construction and pulled off some remark-
The first makeover was Cheonggyecheon stream.
Cheonggyecheon, a stream that runs through Seoul meant
nothing but sewage-smelling water, a road and an over-
Such remarkable changes in the City of Seoul and Lee's
leadership caught the eye of international media, including
The Times, Businessweek and Financial Times. The
restored Cheonggyecheon stream was chosen as the
"Best Product of the Year" by Samsung Economic
Research Institute. It was also selected as the best construction project at the Venice Bienn-ale.
President Lee hopes to build new economic prosperity in Korea
pass covering the stream. Critics argued that restoring the
stream would cause traffic congestion and an environmental disaster as well as disruption to adjacent business districts. The overhaul of the public transportation system was
met with a similar response.
However, the successful completion of the project astonished many people.
A City to Export?
During his tenure, the Seoul Metropolitan Government
became the first public institution to export public policies to
other countries. The urban waterway restoration project is
particularly significant in that it was completed after persuading sho-pkeepers in the affected areas that had previously rejected the project.
It has now become a global role model in urban development. At that time, Mayor Lee and city officials involved in
the project met with shopkeepers as many as 4,200 times.
Some of them even threatened to burn Seoul City Hall
down. However, it is very moving that these small business
owners later gave Lee Myung-bak the strongest support
during his presidential election campaign.
Mayor Lee's leadership helped transform the landscape of
Seoul. Walkways have been built or are planned around
historic structures in the vicinity of Jongno, including
Gwanghwamun Gate and Cheonggyecheon Stream, allowing citizens to stroll around freely.
The area in front of City Hall, once occupied by nothing but
cars, has been turned into a green plaza for Seoulites.
Color-coded buses now steer clear of traffic jams and run
more quickly in the central bus-only lanes. A grandiose
apartment construction project had been planned on a lot
of 1.25 million square meters on Ttukseom Island. Instead,
a spacious ecological park, Seoul Forest, was created in its
place.
In October 2007, Time magazine chose Lee Myung-bak as
the TIME Hero of the Environment for that year. By that
time, Lee had become an international celebrity, and the
reputation of Seoul followed suit. The man-made stream, of
course, has become one of the most famous tourist attractions in the city.
A New President
The 17th presidential election is significant for Koreans
because this year marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Korea.
President Lee Myung-bak said at his inaguration speech,
"We fought for and regained the land that had been taken
from us and established our nation. Our forefathers who
gave their lives for the sake of our independence, our men
and women in uniform who were martyred on the battle
field, our farmers who toiled for a good harvest come rain
or shine, our laborers and workers who worked late into the
night in factories, and those who sacrificed their youth to
fight for democracy, these are the stories of greatness that
bring tears.
"That is how one of the poorest countries in the world has
come to bid for its place among the 10 largest economies
in the world. A country that lived by the mercy of others is
now able to give to others in need and stand shoulder to
shoulder with the most advanced countries.
"Some say this is a miracle. Others say this is a legend. But
we know what it truly is. This is not a miracle but the shining crystallization of our blood, sweat and tears."
President Lee pledged to bring peace to Korea, invigorate
the economy, enliven our culture, advance our science and
technology, strengthen security, and carry out the duties to
the international community.
It is hoped that a new age of pragmatism will start with
newly elected President Lee Myung-bak.
CGE
Three Thorny IT Issues for Lee
How the new President tackles key issues will determine his success in
technology policy.
The Korean IT industry grew up dramatically, just as
President Lee Myung-bak did. Lee was born to a starving
family and had to struggle for food in a war-torn country.
But he became President.
Korean IT industry has a similar background. In the early
1990s, Korea was regarded as a rugged country where it
was hard for any kind of technology-based industry to take
root. But the IT industry saw the commercialization of
CDMA, DMB and WiBro, the World's first services of their
kind.
Problem One: The MIC Fallout
First, Lee's administration should take care of the aftermath has come following the dismantling of the MIC,
the Ministry of Information and Communication.
The MIC has long taken charge of making laws and
policies to boost IT industries. The state-run organization was behind the curtain of the podium that features
the miracle of Korean IT success. It is ironical that Lee
shut down and tore the MIC into three parts that went to
three ministries and committees including the newlyborn Committee of Broadcasting and Communication.
In the market, the dismantling was interpreted as a sign
that the government would not put its energy on the
enhancement of IT industries. In Korea, the shut-down
of an organization tends mean it is to be understood it
has been officially neglected.
The doubt is that President Lee can fill the vacancy created by the dismantling, with a can-do spirit. As is well
known, President Lee was the CEO of Hyundai
Construction Corporation. That means Lee is not well
armed with an IT-minded philosophy. Critics pinpointed
that he killed the MIC because he did not recognize the
importance of IT from his business background.
If priority is put on traditional businesses like construction and heavy industry, Korean IT may suffer a long
period of recess both in demand and supply.
How to operate the Committee of Broadcasting and
Communication will be critical for the future of IT since
the Committee has power to boost IPTV, or Internet
Protocol TV, which is next on the horizon. Business circles evaluate that IPTV will create a new market for
content providers, network suppliers, and equipment
manufacturers.
When IPTV starts, subscribers can enjoy watching TV
and using the Internet on one monitor through Internet
Protocol networks. People can open their e-mails and
Now the question is this: Can President Lee find ways to
boost IT industry still trapped in the darkest tunnel in the
cycle of economy. Experts have warned that if Korean IT
could not make a breakthrough to get over the saturated IT
markets, hardware or software, the future might be gloomy.
In order to weather the storm, President Lee needs to tackle the following three problems.
KKW ([email protected])
chat with friends as well as watching TV on the divided
screen.
KT and SK Telecom, two lions in wire and wireless
broadband service provider markets in Korea, have
long cherished for the introduction of IPTV. If Lee's government pushes for it, the IPTV industry will blossom
soon.
Problem Two: Price Cuts for Subscribers?
Secondly, for Lee's administration, how to deal with a
high pressure from subscribers who want the telecommunication fee to be down is critical. President Lee,
during his presidential campaign, took it into consideration that his government will take policy to lower the
subscription fee. Currently more than 40,000,000 subscribers have raised their voices to force service
providers to cut their fees.
This will bring forth a balloon effect. As you press down
the side of balloon, the opposite side inflates more, the
voices can affect the revenue sheet of telecommunication providers, like SK Telecom, KTF, LG Telecom.
Problem Three: How to take on Nokia?
Lastly, mobile phone manufactures - like LG and
Samsung - should be supported so they can realistically compete with Nokia. For the last few decades, it has
been difficult for the phone manufacturers to compete
with Nokia, the leading mobile phone manufacturer in
the world. More government backing could give
domestic phones an edge.
The IT industry expects to see the IT policy direction
turning from cloudy to sunny with the arrival of Korea's
new president.
Presidential Inauguration
Recommendations / Local government
Incheon to Stand at the
Forefront of Economic
Resolution
Busan to Take a Leap
into the Future
As Lee Myung-bak takes power, Hur Nam-sik, Mayor
of Busan Metropolitan Government, calls for new
powers for local government.
Ahn Sang-soo, Mayor of the Metropolitan City of Incheon,
calls upon the new government to take bold steps towards
deregulation and adopt a pan-governmental approach.
E
ven though Korea overcame the 1997 financial crisis,
many people still lead a poor life in a devastating economic situation. Young people find it difficult to seek a
job, and workers are always concerned about Saojeong, or
early retirement.
We call upon the new government to pay more attention to
resolving such deteriorating economic problems than anything else. Incheon stands at the forefront of overcoming the
country s economic difficulties.
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Incheon was designated as the free economic zone in
August 2003, for the first time in Korean history, with a view
to creating a new growth engine for the nation in the 21st
century.
Incheon has designated the areas surrounding the Incheon
International Airport as a free trade zone, and strives to
establish infrastructures and conduct projects to attract foreign capital for investment. However, it has never received
any appropriate government aid, as it failed to stand above
the political fray of regulations and balanced local development.
We sincerely hope that the Incheon economic free area project will trun out to be a new growth engine which can make a
huge economic success at an average rate of almost 7% per
year, with a per capita GDP of over 40,000 dollars.
The project is expected to serve as a launch pad to promote
economic cooperation in Northeast Asia, also contributing to
the gradual opening of the North.
It is our earnest hope that new President Lee Myung-bak will
do his utmost to take bold steps regarding the deregulation
by adopting a pan-governmental approach, needed to successfully bolster the development of Incheon s economic
free zone.
I
would first like to express my appreciation to the Korea IT Times for
this valuable opportunity to write
some recommendations for the incoming government of this prestigious section.
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In addition, Incheon is currently concentrating all its capabilities on hosting the World City Expo 2009 Incheon, and the
2014 Asian Games successfully, the world s biggest events.
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It is thought that these two events will bring Korea enormous
economic spin-off effects of more than trillions of won employment creation and luring foreign tourists. In particular,
the World City Expo 2009 Incheon is a festivity focusing on
each cities own capabilities and characteristics under the
theme of City for the first time in the world s history.
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The festival will provide a window of opportunity for cities to
carry out their marketing strategies with the participation of
200 cities worldwide.
In addition, the 2014 Asian Games, a world-renown festival
for almost two billion Asians, is expected to create huge economic spin-off effects amounting to as much as 16.3 trillion
won. In this regard, we urge new President Lee to provide us
with governmental assistance for the successful promotion of
([email protected])
the two events.
It is my great pleasure to address a
whole array of readers from different
countries, including Korea. I wish all of
you and your families the very best in
the years ahead.
This year marks the 60th anniversary
of the founding of the Republic of
Korea. With the inauguration of the
new government, I certainly believe
that this year will serve as an opportunity for us all to take a giant step into
the future.
We, the Busan Metropolitan
Government, will put the highest priority on the successful promotion of "Ten
Visions for the Development of
Busan," which is a new challenge and
a hope for the future. We also believe
that this year will be a milestone in bolstering the local economy in Busan.
To this end, we will strive to make
impending local issues incorporated
into national tasks and implement
them in a constructive and sound
manner, in close collaboration with the
new government. We are committed to
strengthening the national competitiveness and laying a firm foundation
to take Busan's development into reality.
Against this backdrop, we have spared
no efforts to help the incoming government's policies deal with Busan's
impending projects. As a result, most
of the "Ten Vision Projects" needed to
restore Busan's economy - such as
the construction of Gangseo high-tech
canal and logistics-oriented industrial
city closely related to the Korean
Peninsula Grand Canal project; the redevelopment of the North Port and the
promotion of hub ports; the construction of perimeter high-speed beltway these were successfully incorporated
into the public pledges of the new government.
The President promised to secure the
promotion of decentralization and the
independent operation of municipal
finance. He also provided the following
public pledges - an expansion of local
finance by increasing the tax rate of
local grants and improving the subsidy
system; active investments in local
industries; and re-organization projects of old downtown areas near
transportation stations - expressing his
high expectations for local development.
In this regard, we sincerely call upon
the new government to provide budgetary assistances to the promotion of
large-scaled projects such as the construction of Gangseo industrial city, as
well as legal and institutional assistances in an active manner, with a
strong emphasis on the successful
implementation of the impending local
projects needed for the realization of
Busan's bright future.
In addition, we want to underline the
importance of establishing a binding
and sustainable cooperation system,
going beyond the boundary of the simple consensus, with the view to successfully implementing the new government's "Creative Metropolitan
Development" strategies.
We also call on the central government to do its utmost to bring about
some regulations on the following matters - such as special accounting for
metropolitan economic blocs; comprehensive subsidies; and independent
local branches for metropolitan blocs,
by legislating a special act on the
development of metropolitan economic blocs including the facilitation of
local cooperation.
([email protected])
Recommendations
Chin Dae-je, Former Minister
Information and Communication
of
We need a national Chief
Information Officer. The
government is in the
progress of downsizing its
government organization
from the existing eighteen
ministries and four sub-ministries to fifteen ministries
and two sub-ministries. A
smaller government might
be able to make a strong government as is the new
government's assertion, but critic's restless voices
against the idea should also be put into a consideration.
nence of this position has risen greatly as
information technology has become a more
important part of business. By creating this job
title to formulate an enterprises' strategic goals
and support its ultimate goals, the employees will be
encouraged to stay on track.
A national Chief Information Officer who has ultimate
authority is definitely needed to pacify the interminable conflicts between information technology
organizations and businesses.
The efforts of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and
Energy to invest money directly into digital TV from
the IT839 strategy is completely different from their
basic purpose. There is a limit to the Knowledge
Economy Committee's efforts for IT development.
We welcome the new government, one with a strong
economic philosophy, one
which has stressed the
need for a warm market
economy.
I, as a member of the IT
industry, sincerely expect a
big change in terms of an
easing of regulations, the promotion of investments,
and more consolidation for new industries in this new
era, heralded by the new government.
It is imperative for the economy to pioneer Korean sustainable developing resources and develop them in a
coherent, strategic plan. Especially, we should focus
on the globally developed industries and competitive
industry alike.
High-value fields, such as digital contents
I would first like to extend
my heartfelt congratulations for the inauguration of
President Lee Myung-bak,
who was considered one of
the best chief executive
officers in Korea's history.
We are also deeply satisfied with his idea that the
industrial development is one of the critical success
factors to promote the national development.
Entrepreneurs should stand at the forefront of leading
the industry to a greater prosperity, with a sense of
responsibility in both nation and people.
President Lee underlined the importance of pragmatism. Against this backdrop, we also think that
it is of great importance to achieve the goal of
commercializing technologies into products.
Here the role of a CIO who works as the head of
the information technology department within
an organization can help a lot. The promi-
Nam Joong-soo, CEO of KT
Shin Kyung-chul, Korea Association of
Robotics
and merged technologies, should be
mainly focused from now on. This is while
hardware development, for example semiconductors and a portable terminals, have been well
focused.
It is necessary that the new government should make
good surroundings for business, such as easing regulations for companies' active participation and investment through indication of potential future business.
Especially, the legal system should be more dynamic
not only to build up Korean global leadership in the
merged broadcast and communication market, but also
in order to provide the nation with a specialized service
at the right time - that can start a new digital era.
I hope that the new government tries to boost the use
of IT and e-Business in all industries and also tries to
help establish a stable base for improved market
competitiveness and productivity through investment in the workforce to create the globallycapable labor force.
Baek Jong-jin, Chairman of Korea
Venture Business Association
The government should take
steps to help venture businesses make inroads into
global markets, ushering in
a new era of globalization.
50% of venture businesses
have already made inroads
to overseas markets, and
more than 95% of companies are still planning to extend its business abroad.
Venture companies make their own decisions to start
their businesses in global markets, as part of their efforts
to draw sustainable management strategies.
However, we are still confronted with a shortage in the
following areas: information on overseas markets,
management funds, and labor, as well as a lack of
networks linked to the overseas markets.
Therefore, the government should serve in
If we spare no efforts to be highly competitive in the global markets, drawing on the
industry's self-discipline and high-quality products, it is no doubt that we be very successful.
There is a great increase in the number of a specialized forms of industry - which requires for huge initial
investments in the technological development from
the outset, and grows bigger and stronger later, based
on accumulated technological expertise.
Robotics is a prime example. Robotics is a next-generation growth engine industry, and calls for people to
make a huge amount of initial investments in technological development.
Therefore, we can gain a competitive edge by investing
in the technological development of others. We share
the idea that it is high time to make investments in the
technological development. The government should
give support to the initial investment of technological developments, to help companies create a
virtuous circle.
a pivotal role in helping companies run
their businesses successfully in the global
market, by carrying out state-run programs to
support human resources and budgetary affairs and
assist in the formation of trustworthy global networks.
Second, the government should draw measures to
expand the scope of the securities markets for companies.
In this regard, appropriate measures designed to reinvigorate the M&A markets and expand the technical transactions should be formulated, by taking into due consideration the promotion of the KOSDAQ market, the
Korean single securities market, and the special characteristics of the venture businesses. Many companies are
born but, at the same time, many die.
Most companies still face obstacles in their efforts to
get onto the securities market. Therefore, it is of great
importance to expand the scope of participation in
the securities market for all companies like this.
Recommendations
Medical IT
Games Industry
Lee Chul-hee, President of ezCaretech
Jeon Chan-woong, CEO & Founder, Joymax
"Medical IT companies are not just simple businesses that provide IT services, because
every single thing they have to offer has a direct relationship with a patient's life. What
companies involved in this field need is an the means to catch fish, not a cooked fish to be
eaten at the table. Detailed guidelines and standardization will allow interoperability and
make medical IT companies compete with each other for the best interest of the customers."
"I was disappointed to hear the government's decision to close the Ministry of
Information and Communication. The construction and manufacturing industry have
already been developed but while the required budget was very high for those companies, the IT industry does not need such a huge investment. I hope the new government pays IT the attention it deserves."
Digital Industry-Semiconductors
Hwang, Ki Soo, CEO of Core Logic
Jee Joon-young, Managing Director, Adobe Korea
"My strong hope is that Korea's IT business will improve in the coming years with our new
government. For fast growth, IT policies and plans should be actively implemented. We
need far-reaching reforms, including the deregulations of certain practices, better training,
and, especially, the revitalization of the system IC business. While Korea is the world's
number one DRAM chip maker and explorer, we do not yet have the advanced technology to make state-of-art non-memory semiconductors."
"I'd like to ask the government to step up the quality of IT education in this country. At
present, we just have office tours and the like, but the next generation needs multimedia and digital communication for young people. Korea lags behind other countries in
this respect, and we also need to expand the software property industry."
Telecommunications
Internet
Won Choong-yun, President of DTVInteractive
Kim Kyoung-ik, CEO, Pandora TV
"The new government needs to take an interest in and support new media businesses
like digital broadcasting, mobile TV, IPTV, and WiBro, which are global trends with a lot of
potential. We acutely need a mid- to long-term plan to help support the digital broadcasting equipment industry, which is almost a barren land at the moment."
"I think more freedom is needed for the development of the IT industry. In the United
States, IT policies are based on freedom. Network costs in Korea are three or four
times more expensive than in any other country. The government should provide
more assistance in this regard."
Games Industry
Software
Storage
Recommendations - Seo Soo-kil, CEO, Wemade
Lee, Kyu-yong, CEO, 3Gen Data Systems Korea
"I don't expect much from politicians, but I hope the new administration will at least try to
understand new concepts from new and global markets. Try to understand more of what
your children are involved in - you might understand more about your children's generation and they future that way."
"The IT policy in the past government was tremendously focused on large corporations with hardware products in the enterprises markets. More detailed projects are
needed for small and medium sized enterprises' IT development in this duration.
Large corporations seem to run their businesses without the help of any smaller enterprises' potentially more inventive solutions. Innovative distribution can be encouraged
if a wider range of people get involved."
Tourism
to the Korean embassy, take part in an interview with a consul,
and bring along the original passports of every student.
Korea Tourism Organization
Wrapping Paper for Korea
H
uko is a Japanese
student who has just
finished her university
finals. She decides to take a
graduation trip to Korea and
come to see the places
where some of her favorite
Korean soap operas were
shot.
As the plane approaches
Incheon Airport, Huko concentrates on a travel guideOh Jee-chul, CEO of the
book in order to squeeze out
Korea Tourism Organization
as much information on
Korea as possible in the last
minute. When she arrives, with butterflies in her stomach, she
sees an information desk with a sign that reads: "Phone
Rental for the fastest check-in in the world and the newest
traveler information."
Huko takes a look at the rental phones and personal Digital
Assistants (PDA), and finds it amazing that all sorts of travel
information is provided in Japanese. Not only that, when she
clicks on a hotel category, she could see the pictures and
descriptions of the hotels and book a room automatically.
The lady at the information desk says, "If you put the phone on
the top of the tag reader in a taxi, it will automatically contact
the hotel you reserved and let them know the exact time of
your arrival, to assist you with a faster check in. You also
won't need to worry about communication difficulties with the
taxi driver, either."
From the moment Huko had arrived in Korea from Japan, she
has already made a travel companion.
"Every country has the potential for tourism." That is according
to Oh Jee-chul, CEO of the Korea Tourism Organization.
What makes tourism worth improving?
Tourism will make up 20% of the entire world's Growth
Domestic Product (GDP) in five years’ time. In Korea for the
past 5 years, tourism accounted for a little over 10% of our
GDP. "Tourism is an industry that consistently grows.
Currently, 17,000,000 tourists are visiting China. 40 million
The applicants also need legal confirmation of your application, a list of names of the students, and the supervising
teacher or the travel agent's personal information.
Even with all this procedure, it takes 15 working days to be
issued with a visa to enter Korea. Japan, on the other hand,
requires a simple subscription process and the visa is issued
in only two days. The guidelines and policies to improve these
three subjects will definitely help to promote Korea's most
interesting tourist projects.
people in the world are on holidays overseas.
America and China are expecting to host up to
100,000,000 tourists in the near the future.
The tourism industry creates a lot of jobs.
1,8000,000 people are currently working in the tourism industry in Korea.
Our vision is to create 400,000 new job positions with tourism.
Lastly, tourism increases the value of a country. The question
is which wrapping paper to use on Korea - would a gold ribbon
be best, or should we go with green?
Tomi Ahonen is an European mobile communications consultant. As he said in his book, Digital Korea, one of Korea's
major strengths that it really can grab the world's attention
when it comes to information technology. He wrote, "To understand our digital future, we have to understand South Korea."
"With the IT infrastructure in Korea, the country can show
more than historical sites, natural beauty, and modern architecture," said Oh.
The majority in Korea already watches TV while on the go, and
navigates their way around on their mobile phones. By using
that as one of the ribbons, Korea Tourism Organization is in
progress to create multi-language mobile electronic map, story
telling content, and travel information.
'88 Seoul Olympics, no single five-star hotel has been built in
Korea. Hotel business is also trade business," Oh added.
But, currently, on top of over taxation on their profit, Korean
hotels have been on regular payment plans on their utilities.
According to Oh, this must be adjusted by 2010 so that the
hotels can pay utility fees on the industry payment plan. Also,
property tax should be reduced by 50% and local tax on business complex should be abolished.
He said, "Golf resorts are seeking for help to attract domestic
clients as well as foreign guests."
In 2007, 1,000,000 Koreans visited overseas golf resorts and
spent 1.88 trillion dollars. In return, the number of visitors to
Korean golf resorts can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
Golf should no longer be seen as a prestigious sport for
Koreans.
But the government's over taxation on golf resorts has been
squeezing Korean golfers' pockets. Special consumption tax
and sports promotion funds on golf resorts should be abolished for golf resorts that are already fed up with paying property mortgages, profit taxes, and nature preserving taxes.
The travel guide phone, 1330, and travel guide information
system, i-net, are another ribbon to wrap tourism and IT
together. Just as the Year of the Rat represents quick propagation, the i-net system will be spread to 393 travel bureaus in
all parts of Korea by the first half of 2008.
In order for the golf resorts to preserve the land surrounding
the golf course, they also have to buy the land around the
course and pay its tax. All of these are what costs the consumers in the end.
Anything from restaurant information, performance schedule,
travel sites, and public transportation guide will be provided
with an i-net system, and 1330 phone services will respond to
travelers' calls within 49 seconds at the maximum.
The golf course usage fees and even the fees for caddies are
higher in Korea than any other developed country in Asia. We
need to resolve some visa issues, to make it easier for people
to come her in the first place.
So the KTO has found two beautiful colored ribbons to wrap
Korea. But is Korea itself ready to be wrapped in paper like
this?
By practicing no-visa projects in popular cities in Japan and
China, the countries managed to attract more tourists than ever
before in history. In order for, say, Chinese teenagers to come
to Korea on field trips, the procedure is extremely complex.
The hesitant response from most tourism organizations is due
to restriction on tourism industries and visa issues. "Since the
Either a travel agent or the supervising teacher should show up
Then what are the Korea Tourism Organization's assignments
until the government completes their assignment to set Korea
on a wrapping paper? The creative and original tourist packages should continuously be developed.
"For an example, there are 33 Buddhist temples in Korea with
great sceneries and traditional food. The Japanese believe
that a complete tour of all the temples in a country brings fortune. This year, a package tour will be created for the tourists
to be able to visit all 33 Buddhist temples in Korea," said Oh.
Oh also said that other projects like Peace Life Zone travel
packages including the DMZ(Demilitarized Zone) is on its
progress. Slow City is another idea. Four regions were currently chosen as the area where maintains the traditional culture and nature. A travel package is to be developed for bona
fide city slickers.
And the last thing Korea needs before it is wrapped is friendly
people. Oh added, "We need to work on facial and verbal
expressions. On every corner, a campaign will soon start to
promote a sparkling Korea with a great level of cleanness.
Public restrooms are a major topic. A 'three-word greeting'
campaign is another idea. But it would be the best thing if
tourism was taught as a mandatory subject from the early education."
An eco-friendly environment, IT based tour guides, the reduction of travel costs with policy alteration, original tour attractions with a good package deal, and the cooperation of local
people added altogether added to the country will wrap the
country with colorful ribbons in a fancy wrapping paper.
Once it is beautifully wrapped, on-line marketing will display
them in their show window. Korean food recipes, the comments of tourists, and the other interests of bloggers will be
post online and the world of Google will lead people to the site,
www.visitkorea.or.kr, to provide them with more information.
Korea Tourism Organization's soon-to-be-made ribbons wait
to wrap Korea in the bright colors of high-technology.
CGE
Opinion
The Great Canal and
Technology s Role
Park Ki-shik, Vice President of the IT Services Research
Division of the Electronics and Telecommunications Research
Institute, gives us his spin on Lee Myung-bak's ambitious
plans to build a network of canals across the country.
Overview - Vision 2008
V
ision 2008 is an extensive series of interviews we have conducted across a pretty wide spectrum of Korean IT companies and technology companies based in Korea.
T
he election may be over, but the
debate on the Great Canal project continues. The project was
one of Lee Myung-bak's key election
pledges during the 17th presidential
campaign, and controversy is still lingering on a wide range of thorny
issues.
The Great Canal, which is planned to
comprise three sub-canals, namely
Seoul-Busan, Seoul-Honam, and
North Korean canals, is considered a
national project that will eventually link
the three sub-canals into a one big
canal, which will stretch across the
entire Korean peninsula.
If the Great Canal is successfully constructed, it will provide a new means
of transportation that will cut logistics
costs in preparation for a future rise in
commercial traffic and lead to "grand
national integration". The hope is to
not only link communications, but to
create human links along a waterway
that runs in every direction.
There may be many benefits and useful side-effects of the canal's construction. Indeed, several rivers in Europe,
such as the Rhine and the Danube,
are linked to form waterways, attracting cargo and tourists since time
immemorial.
When it comes to the current dispute,
the arguments for and against the
canal tend to polarize people. It
seems you are either a canal supporter or a canal skeptic. However, my
personal opinion is not so black and
white.
I think we have to consider the fact
that the degree and extent of any positive or negative results that are
expected from the canal construction
can be strongly influenced by how we
drive the project and how we manage
and operate it after its construction
rather than on the canal itself. In fact,
as many people have pointed out, the
undertaking of the Great Canal project
in the traditional way of starting up a
construction project may turn it into a
mundane business.
However, I believe that we can mitigate some of the negative perspectives if the Great Canal project is
planned as a 21st century "intelligent"
canal by using advanced up-to-date
technologies including IT.
We can surely resolve these issues if
we make the most of our cutting-edge
IT industry, which is brimming with of
strengths and advantages.
For an instance, we can think of building a real-time, sensor-based canal
operation system by utilizing Korea's
advanced IT through such means as
building a WiBro network along the
waterway, mounting RFIDs on ships,
and installing sensors on the ridges
and the river bed.
In addition, we can meticulously construct and operate real-time canal
management systems for monitoring
the environment, preventing accidents, and managing water resources
based on the Ubiquitous Sensor
Network (USN), RFID, and a variety of
high-tech information technologies.
Not only would this make it possible to
resolve issues related to environmental damage and natural disasters,
which concern many people, but we
might also expect to reap the benefits
of improving the environment and
water quality and reducing disasters.
I also believe that developing and utilizing a software-based simulated
canal operation system beforehand
for such a large national project is a
desirable alternative.
It is necessary to tackle the Great
Canal project, conceived in the 21st
century, with the kind of creative mind
that has conceived the great construction projects of Dubai.
We need a new perspective that
supersedes the existing frame of
thoughts. The combination of Korea's
IT prowess with the dream of a Great
Canal stretching across the Korean
peninsula may drive this country one
step closer to becoming a more
mature advanced nation.
In compiling Vision 2008, it has been surprising to see that there have been a few striking similarities in the kind of responses we have had, even from very different people involved in some very different industries.
The first trend, and possibly most striking, is the fact that almost everyone we spoke to seems to
imply that 2008 is not just an important year for their companies - it is rapidly becoming a make-orbreak year for Korean IT.
Never before have Korean companies, who have, until now, been happily working on their own in a
hermetic bubble, occasionally foraying into the outside world to sell some of their wares.
However, the idea of Korean IT existing as a cottage industry is quickly becoming a fantasy. Based
abroad, there are other, very powerful movers in the world of IT, and globalization is a double-edged
sword for Korea.
While global markets are great, in a way, because they allow Korea to sell their wares everywhere from Guam to Guinea to Guadalajara.
However, the other side of the coin is that there is nothing to stop companies from other countries to
take on the Koreans at their own game, or even to sail over here and try to blow their Korean competitors out of the water. 2008 sees a lot of Korean companies braced for just that.
However, there is also good news contained in these pages. It seems that Korean companies are
not only fully aware of the competition from abroad - they also have developed elaborate and wellthought out strategies to attempt to deal with the difficulties they face ahead of them.
We hope that you will agree that whether it frightens or re
assures, it all makes for some very interesting reading.
Tim Alper, Editor
([email protected])
Vision 2008 Telecommunications and Broadcasting
Internet
DTV Interactive
Video Chief Hopes for
Government Breaks
Digital TV - Making Buses
Everywhere More Dangerous
Places To Be
Pandora TV are Korea's biggest User Created
Content site, but say if companies like them
are to expand, they need the government to
adopt the right policies.
DTV Interactive are not content with taking the Korean
domestic digital TV market - they want the Americans and
Chinese to follow suit.
I
f you are thinking taking a bus in Korea, there are plenty
of dangers to consider before you hop on. Bus drivers in
Korea can drive in a way that will make you feel like you
are on a rollercoaster, and old women with loose shopping
bags can catch you in the kidneys when you are least
expecting it. But as though that is not enough, a new threat
has been added - the rogue mobile digital video user.
This strange individual seems unconcerned about where
he or she is going, where the bus is going or has come
from, and certainly seems to be oblivious of the presence
of fellow passengers. What does consume this person's
interest - every last milligram of their interest, at that, is
what is happening on their mobile phone or personal media
player.
You see, Digital TV means much more than some flash
household appliance for these people. For them, Digital TV
also means Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB), which
means that you can watch television on your mobile, your
mp3 player, your laptop computer. You name it - if it is electrical, the chances are you can now watch TV on it.
And as if modern broadcasting technology had not progressed enough, experts are now saying that more
progress is on its way.
DTV Interactive are a Korean Digital TV manufacturer.
According to their Chairman, Wo Choong-yun, soon, you
won't even need to stick an aerial into an application in
order to get it to pick up TV signals.
T
based network and will evolve into wireless IPTV harmonized with mobile high-speed internet systems."
And having identified the Chinese and American interest in
digital TV, DTV have set their sights on overseas markets
in the year ahead, looking to take advantage of the
Olympics in Beijing, as Chinese operators try to release
products in time to tie into what they hope will be the
biggest show on earth.
Won explains, "DTV Interactive will devote all our energy
on to break into the emerging markets in China and the
USA. Digital and Mobile TV standards can be established
there by developing new products and finding sales and
marketing partners."
DTV Interactive, who have the biggest share of the domestic market, too, plan to go further than consolidating their
home dominance. They will expand beyond Korean shores
in their quest to enable the world to watch TV wherever,
whenever.
"We have been doing our best to open up new markets
overseas ever since we founded the company," Says Won.
All of which means that in all likeliness, we will all be glued
to our mobiles, PMP, watches or whatever else we will
soon be able to see our favourite soap operas on. And if
DTV Interactive have their way, not just the buses in Korea
will become more hazardous for passengers - but also
those in Shanghai and Seattle, too.
TA
Won says, "Not only Korea, but China and the US are getting involved in DMB and Internet Protocol TV (IPTV). The
amount of equipment related to digital broadcasting is
going to increase. IPTV will surpass the existing wire-
Pandora TV
he World of IT loves anachronisms. More than anything else,
it loves predictions that contain
anachronisms. Like this one - UCC is
the future.
User Created Content (UCC) sites are
one of the fastest growing areas of
global technology. The idea is simple,
but beautiful - we live in a world where
a large proportion of us carry digital
video cameras around in our pockets
in the shape of mobile phones. UCC
sharing sites allow us to upload our
videos to the Internet, and share them
with not only our friends and families,
but with the rest of the World, too.
UCC is an area of the Internet where
Korean companies have enjoyed no
small success, but a change of government could mean a journey into the
unknown for Korean companies who
have been working their way towards
success.
With Lee Myung-bak now in charge of
Korea's executive, companies are
hoping he will look after their interests
- in the interest of the Korean economy.
Pandora TV are Korea's leading UCC
site. They have the lion's share of the
personal media market in this country,
and hope to expand their enterprises
to incorporate foreign markets, too,
taking on big hitters like Googlebacked YouTube, the biggest UCC
site on the planet.
Like other successful Korean IT ventures, Pandora TV are now looking
abroad, to see if they can capture
some of the foreign market - in particular the potentially lucrative East Asian
market, which many analysts believe
the biggest UCC battles will be played
out on.
few corners if they are to continue to
expand. He says, "Domestic network
connection costs are three to four
times more expensive than network
connections in other countries. This is
a very big problem for us. We are not
alone in needing government support
for things like this if it is at all possible."
Countries like China, the Philippines
and Indonesia have gigantic populations that are slowly becoming just as
Internet-conscious as the rest of the
World.
And the Pandora CEO thinks the role
of the government is not so sizeable,
relatively speaking. Says Kim, "Most
IT policies are already open to the
public in Korea. That means they can
be debated and weighed up in the
public arena."
Such countries have industrialized
rapidly and are now joining the technological rat race. More disposable
income in the hands of so many
means big bucks for international companies that break into these markets.
However, if Korean companies want to
be amongst the companies that make
a mark in emerging markets, many
believe that they will face very stiff
competition from rich companies from
the USA and elsewhere. For this reason, government help is essential for
such enterprises.
Many have, in the past, criticized the
Korean government for being too interventionalist when it comes to IT.
However, Kim believes that this is not
the case, though he would like to see
authorities expand their network of
support.
"The government does not interfere
with the work of individual companies.
The problem is that it also does not
give any real support to them," he
says.
Pandora TV's Chief Executive Kim
Kyoung-ik says that, ideally, the new
administration will provide a better
level of support for companies like his,
who are looking to expand beyond
these shores.
When it comes to state intervention in
IT, Kim believes that Korea needs to
take its lead from America. He says,
"In the United States, IT policies are
based on freedom. I think more freedom is needed for the development of
the IT industry in Korea."
Kim believes that Pandora TV needs
the government to help them to cut a
TA
Vision 2008 Online Games
Joymax / Wemade
Online computer games are no longer a niche market - they are big
business. But can the Korean market survive the arrival of the Japanese
and US giants?
And games like World of Warcraft
(WoW) and Second Life have hit the
headlines in recent years, with people
selling online Second Life properties
turning their virtual earnings into real
profits.
Anshe Chung, a Chinese Second Life
enthusiast made front pages across
the globe when she became the first
computer games millionaire. Her vast
network of property in the computer
game has made her over $1 million in
real money, opening up the floodgates
for the virtual world to invade the land
of reality.
When, only thirty six years ago, Atari
released Pong, widely recognised as
the first commercial computer game in
history, its designer, Allan Alcorn
probably had no idea what he had
started.
Korean computer games generate a
lot of money for the economy, but can
they be exported on a large scale?
E
very morning, a 76-year old
man in Busan gets up and goes
straight into the online computer gaming world of Legends of Mir.
Think that computer games are for
spotty teenage boys with poor social
skills? Think again.
And the elderly Busanite is by no
means an anomaly in Korean society.
Legends of Mir's oldest female player
is a 69-year old woman from Andong.
When the online community spot the
pensioners' characters online, they
are universally greeted with deep virtual bows from younger players.
Korea is awash with online computer
games. And if Korean companies
have anything to do with it, the world
is going to have to come to terms with
learning one of the English language's
longest anachronisms. MMORPG
stands for Massively Multiplayer
Online Role Playing Game.
Pong saw two paddles move slowly
across the screen to strike a ball back
and forth in a rough imitation of table
tennis, but in well under half a century,
the computer game industry has
become one of the biggest success
stories in human business history.
Fortunately for this country, Korea
was an early mover in computer game
technology, and rather than specialise
in the kind of games made for imported games consoles from Japan and
the US, Korean computer games
companies decided to make software
for hardware that could be made in
Korea, namely Personal Computers.
And as Korea managed to pull off the
feat of being one of the first countries
in the World to widely spread highspeed Internet access across the
nation, the notion of online PC computer games was an easy fit for
Korean users.
of Wemade, who make the hugely
popular Legends of Mir series of
games. He says that his company
sees a different solution to the unstoppable onslaught of the big-hitting
games giants from the US and Japan.
Through the Lineage series, Legends
of Mir and Silkroad Online and many
other titles, Korea has become something of an expert in making
MMORPGs.
Jeon Chan-woong is the CEO and
founder of Joymax, who make
Silkroad Online and other titles.
Jeon explains that while packaged
games traditionally tend to allow for
static player dynamics, online games
are different. He says, "The player
versus computer or player versus
player format is staid and static.
MMORPGs allow for players to compete and collaborate in so many different ways."
In this way a group of players can
work together, or an individual can go
it alone, the possibilities and combinations are seemingly endless.
Perhaps the name "Second Life" is
more apt than first seems. Indeed,
experts believe that online gaming
could be yet another new form of
nascent social interaction - a new way
to meet real people, in real life, could
well be to log as your favourite fantasy
character.
Jeon says, "MMORPGs easily create
a sense of community, with users
going online to create and join new
communities. There is nothing to stop
these users meeting in the offline
world - and indeed many people do
this kind of thing already. Games are
becoming social tools."
However, though Korean companies
have enjoyed some deal of success in
the lucrative East Asian market, which
includes China, with a
population of around 1.6 billion people, there is danger on the
horizon.
The Americans and the Japanese, the
established computer game superpowers, are starting to see the advantages of developing online PC games,
not just their own consoles and games
which can only be used on such
machines. Nintendo, Sony, Electronic
Arts and Microsoft are the biggest hitters in the gaming world, and have
financial clout that smaller Korean
companies could not dream of commanding.
For this reason, Korea's biggest game
producers are quickly waking up to
the fact that although they may have
all but monopolised their domestic
market, they must move quickly on
the global stage in order to survive.
"We need to go global. In fact we
need to go global fast, in order to stay
afloat. That means on
every level. Our boardroom meetings are held
in English and we are
providing our staff with
free English lessons so
we can communicate with
people outside Korea. We have to
form alliances with foreign companies,
and find partners from other countries."
This desire to diversify and go elsewhere in the world is not born of some
megalomania, some vague hope to
capture the World market, but a desperate desire to succeed against
some of the biggest, richest companies around.
Says Seo, "We cannot take on the
likes of Microsoft - we do not have the
financial clout to take on even a single
department of a company like that. So
we have to develop things which are
global and practical."
But for different companies that
means different things. Joymax boss
Jeon says he intends to create a new
niche in the world gaming market - a
kind of worldwide games database.
So what is global and practical? Seo
says, "We are looking at buying up
intellectual property rights for film tieins and so on. We have a lot of experience and we are capable of creating
online worlds other companies cannot
do right yet - we have to use our
advantage now."
He says, "We have launched the joymax.com site, and we intend it to turn
into a searchable portal site for
gamers who want to know more information about the latest online game
news. We want it to turn into the
Google of the gaming world."
So it seems that the domestic computer games market are at least aware of
the potential difficulties about to blow
their way when the big spenders - the
likes of Sony, Nintendo and Electronic
Arts - start to invest in the MMORPG
market.
TA
Seo Soo-kil is the CEO and President
Vision 2008 Digital Industry
Core Logic
pany has opened an office in Shenzhen following its
Shanghai operations and is shifting into high gear with its
consumer business preparations for China.
Core Logic’s
"Core" Business Plan
Core Logic acquires global chip competitiveness and
moves on to the mobile device market in service oriented business format.
"T
he Worldwide semiconductor market and industry
will continue to show gradual improvement this
year. Core Logic has been growing fast since it
was set up. Especially this year, it is doing its best to take
another leap and radically reform with diverse efforts - such
as business expansion, customer diversification, business
globalization and more."
This is according to Hwang Ki-soo, the president of the
Core Logic group. He is confident with the techniques that
have meant a sharp rate of growth in the global digital
mobile equipment markets for past ten years.
However, Mr. Hwang emphasized that it is also important
to set the availability of growth for next ten years in order to
take a leap, withholding the current rate of growth.
"Business performance from last year shows a slowdown,"
said Hwang. However, he added, "We saw a slowdown in
our growth when we changed our main product to the
Multimedia Application Processor (MAP) from the Camera
Application Processor (CAP). This is just a passage of
rights every company goes through in its growth process."
The ace in the hole that he has been planning to play since
two years ago is already in the making. Core Logic plans to
With the trend in the mobile phone market shifting to smart
phone from feature phone, a rapid rise in the smart phone
market is expected. By preparing an innovative portfolio,
Core Logic is switching its previous slave type multimedia
application processor products into strong master application processors.
Core Logic's JADE is applicable not only to cellular phones
but also to digital consumer products such as satellite navigation, which also provide Java and blue tooth functions.
Core Logic seeks to further expand its capabilities in the
digital consumer market with mobile System-on-Chip (SoC)
technology that has been proven in the mobile phone
industry. Developing digital consumer business further,
Core Logic plans to balance with its handset business,
which had taken more than 80% of the main source of profit.
Open Operating Systems, such as Symbian and Linux, will
be ported to Core Logic Applications Processor (AP) chips
to be used in smart phones and the middleware is being
prepared as well.
Core Logic is actively pursuing entry into the Chinese market for not only its handset business, but its mobile digital
consumer business as well using its mobile SoC technology, which it has accumulated over the years.
With the development and release of this product, Core
Logic plans to preoccupy the smart phone market, which
will lead future mobile phone market growth to achieve not
only continuous growth in the mobile phone market, but to
enter the digital consumer market, which will require this
type of performance and functionality as well.
With this strengthened market competitiveness, Core Logic
is ready to be reborn as a true multimedia solution provider
competing with global players. As a step of strengthening
overseas activity, Core Logic converted its Shanghai
branch office into a formal corporate entity to actively
address the Chinese market last year and a newly-opened
an office in Shenzen, well known for fast-growing consumer business.
Core Logic's most remarkable innovation is "JADE," which
was introduced in April 2007. JADE is a Multimedia
Application Processor (MAP), a current upfront product of
Core Logic, and was demonstrated at the Mobile World
Congress2008.
downsize its mobile phone business except for the chips
used in smart phones which combine mobile phone and
PC functions and will leverage its mobile processor technology accumulated up to this point to expand its business
field into mobile electronic devices.
In particular, the company is transforming into a multimedia
platform solution company, which manufactures both hardware (processors) and software for mobile devices such as
navigation, 3D gaming consoles, and camcorders.
To this end, Core Logic last year acquired Mcubeworks, a
professional mobile multimedia software company, for 22.7
billion won. By combining Core Logic's chip technology and
Mcubeworks' software skills, the company plans to shorten
the development time for multimedia platforms to be included in various mobile devices.
JADE is equipped with a H.264 decoder, the next generation image solution that not only enables satellite mobile
broadcasting and terrestrial broadcasting service which are
commercially utilized in Korea, but simultaneously provides
DVB-H service, the mobile TV standard in Europe.
In addition, this product enables better content sharing by
DRM, USB2.0, and MTP. Together with its low power consumption, it fits perfectly into music-playing mobile phones.
Core Logic recently signed an acquisition agreement with
STS Semiconductor for greater synergy in the semiconductor field in December last year, and made a great step
towards the Electronic Manufacturing Service (EMS) business.
This change for Core Logic is intended to enhance its competitiveness in the global market, and its transformation to
be a total platform service provider will accelerate in both
life and capability.
Hwang says that the year 2008 will be very first step
towards the evolution of Core Logic with a platform-typed
product combining hardware chips with a variety of software.
Therefore, this year is critical for the company if they want
to make a leap to become a major global player. If Core
Logic is to take that leap, they will have to continue to
develop their products through the innovation of technology
and also to construct service-oriented business surroundings for increasing customer satisfaction.
In addition, in order to diversify its business, Core Logic
has expanded its business areas into the mobile digital
consumer business from its previous handset business and
is embarking on plans to lower the percentage of its handset business which currently is 100% to make room for
more efforts in the consumer sector.
In order to target the Chinese consumer market, the com-
Vision 2008 Software
Vision 2008 Solutions
Adobe Korea
Global Partnership Starts to Pay Off
Adobe - "We'll Enrich the Net"
Coming into the spotlight in terms of growth potentials, AlcatelLucent is reaping the rewards of a successful merger.
Software giants Adobe say design needs to improve and go across
media fast as customers grow weary of the mundane.
"D
esign is everything." These
are the words of Jee Joonyoung, the Managing
Director of Adobe Korea.
It is a sweeping statement, but perhaps more than an empty brag from a
major figure in the Korean IT design
world.
Adobe are one of the biggest software
companies on the planet, but have
made their name biggest in the field of
design software for the desktop publishing businesses - where products
like InDesign and Photoshop have
become almost household names,
even for people who have no idea
what they are.
Jee says design is of vital importance
in the modern world. He says, "Think
about new housing developments, he
says, nobody wants to live in a grey
box-like tower block anymore. They
want to live in something that looks
attractive from the outside as well."
However, there are groups of customers who do not share this rabid
fascination with design. Not everyone
wants their mobile phone to be
designed by Chanel or Armani. They
just want it to weigh less, or they want
its batteries to last longer.
As mentioned elsewhere in this magazine - a product's practicalities are
bound to get less funding if so much if
IT companies start hiring top fashion
designers to design their products.
Alcatel - Lucent Korea
tion, customer basis, and businesses.
In particular, complementary jobs were
created in light of the production.
However, Park Min-hyoung, Senior
Marketing manager at Adobe, disagrees. He says design must be seen
as part of the total package. "If design
meets its original purpose, quality
doesn't have to suffer. A mobile phone
that is designed well - but not good
enough in terms of quality - might not
satisfy customers, but the opposite is
also true. There needs to be a good
balance."
And Jee adds, by way of example, "It
used to be that in book publishing, for
example, a company would just print
their book and that would be it.
Nowadays, a book publisher needs to
develop not only the offline contents,
but web contents to promote the book
on the net. They may also want to
develop mobile contents, for people
using their phones or other devices on
the net."
The big hitters in the design game
believe that the future of the Internet
lies in the hands of web designers.
Park says, "Users are being bombarded with advertising and marketing
every time they turn on their computers. Simply having your website out
there on the net does not guarantee
that anyone will actually visit it. It
takes something special for today's
customers to sit up and take notice."
Adobe see Korea as a big potential
market for their new software, and
Park says that Koreans have a particular need for their products.
It is true that badly-designed website
is market poison if you want your business or orgnaization to succeed. If it
looks primitive and/or difficult to use, it
is unlikely that people will want to buy
anything from you, or do business
with you.
TA
He says, "Koreans are early adapters,
and they are getting an international
reputation as being people who can
get their foot in the door first, so the
idea of publishing better material, on
several platforms, faster and more
effectively is very attractive to them."
Yang choon-gyung, CEO and chairman
of Alcatel-Lucent Korea
A
lcatel-Lucent Korea marked an
additional growth of more than
100 percent in 2007, compared
with its business plan designed for last
year. It was made possible, now that it
has gained greater synergy effects
through its activities overseas.
Yang Choon-gyung, CEO and
Chairman of Alcatel-Lucent Korea, said,
"The company saw a slight increase in
the overall sales in 2007, compared to
the aggregate revenues of respective
companies before the merger. It is a
huge success despite the deadly effects
of foreign exchanges last year. The
company succeeded in putting into
practice its roadmap for costs and personnel reduction in the first year since
the merger, which was originally scheduled for the following three years."
2008 will see Adobe release their Rich
Internet application software for companies who hope they can find a way
to grab the imaginations of customers
who think they have already seen it all
when it comes to the Internet.
Yang added, "Korea made a huge success by achieving the synergy effects of
the merger, more than any other countries in the world. In this regard, AlcatelLucent Korea was recognized by the
headquarters as a highly successful
entity."
Jee says, "We are already in a world
where contents are pretty much available everywhere."
He explained that there were nearly no
overlapped areas of business between
Alcatel and Lucent, in terms of produc-
The Alcatel-Lucent chief also made
clear that light transmission equipment
achieved outstanding results last year,
expecting that demands are still growing for the new and additional establishment of the equipment. In particular, he
emphasized that two-way custom services based on the end-to-end solutions
should serve as a pivotal role to help
Korean companies to gain a competitive edge over the growing IPTV market.
Responding to the news that AlcatelLucent will join hands with Japan's NEC
to form a new joint venture at the Mobile
World Congress held recently in Spain,
he said, "The joint venture will bring
great achievements to the development
of wireless technologies in the future."
He underlined the importance that
Korean conglomerates, such as
Samsung and LG, should stand at the
forefront of forging a global partnership
to gain a competitive edge over fourthgeneration mobile technologies in the
market.
Lucent Korea had a satisfactory first
year as a merged company in 2007,
with a strong emphasis on maximizing
the synergy effects of integration.
Coming into the spotlight in terms of
growth potential, it succeeded in yielding tangible results and creating the
effects of growth synergy led by the
merger.
Alcatel-Lucent was successfully
equipped with a wide range of produc-
tion lines and solution portfolios that
cover a marked convergence of the
online, wireless, and broadband infrastructures, through the merger. AlcatelLucent made headway in the Korean
network market last year.
In particular, Alcatel-Lucent presents a
solution to all networks and service
requirements, by providing "TPSDA,"
GPON equipment "7342ISAM FTTU
(Fiber to the User)," BSR, next-generation multi-services router "7750SR,"
and service aggregation equipment
"7450 ESS(Ethernet Service Switch)"
Alcatel-Lucent Korea succeeded in
establishing the network of FTTH subscribers by ensuring that Hanaro
Telecom was the first GPON customer
in Korea. It also initiated its domestic
businesses by providing service routers
available for the IP-TV to KINX.
Formed from the merger of Alcatel and
Lucent Technologies, Alcatel-Lucent
combines two entities that share a common lineage that can be traced back to
1986, when Alcatel's parent company,
CGE (la Compagnie Generale
d'Electricite), acquired ITT's European
telecom business. Nearly 60 years earlier, ITT had purchased most of AT&T's
manufacturing operations outside the
United States. AT&T was Lucent's former parent company.
Alcatel-Lucent is bringing its common
heritage back together and starting an
exciting new chapter of its history -- creating the world's first truly global communications solutions provider, with the
most complete end-to-end portfolio of
solutions and services in the industry.
KHS
Vision 2008 Storage
3Gen
3Gen Data Systems Korea - storage
solutions for a growing world
3
Gen Data Systems are a professional vendor based in Michigan
USA and are a global provider of
high quality TCO (Total Cost of
Ownership).
nical strategy, one which changes
from hardware-centered to solutioncentered.
This change will setting up a new
solution in the field of storage.
They are also providers of some cutting-edge storage solutions with complicated-sounding names. These
include SCSI (Small Computer
System Interface), iSCSI (internet
Small Computer Interface), SAN
(Storage Area Network) and NAS
(Network Attached Storage) that
enable businesses worldwide to store,
protect, and manage their data with
ease and efficiency.
3Gen actually introduced two strategic
products, and one of them has been
loaded to a hardware chip set as a
standard unit. Then this product will
be introduced to the market as a single-bodied piece of hardware, while all
server back-up programs are formed
as software.
The headquarters of 3Gen is currently
in Michigan, USA, It has more than
20-year experience in the storage
industry and there are five more
international branches, including
Seoul, the capital of Korea.
Contents of biz promotion and
strategic storage
Lee Kyu-yong, the CEO of 3Gen Data
System Korea, said that they have
been promoting a differentiated tech-
Therefore, customers can feel the
benefits, in terms of cost-cutting and
managing.
A high level of techniques is easily
recognizable: it is impossible to delete
the back-up data meaning customers
should fear nothing from external
hackers and mistakes in management.
Strengths and opportunities
There are four big positives from
3Gen: price, acknowledgment of the
brand values, the product itself, and
the market.
Lee said, "Compared with the current
import prices of Taiwanese storage,
our products are competitive. We are
also leading public relations, compared with Taiwan and competitors
from other countries."
He also added, "Our products are
competitive enough with major competitor companies' mid-range or entry
level products. Furthermore, the SMB
market has grown. And especially,
UCC, IPTV, CCTV have changed to
SMB products. They have started
using low-priced massive storage
solutions."
Global networks, biz co-operation
trend and plan
However, Lee pointed out a problem
through his 17-year long experience
with four global companies such as
3Com. It is difficult to succeed in cooperative business between foreignbased corporation and most domestic
companies.
or in the subject of their partners' cooperational business between domestic companies because companies
run limited sales "only" on the sales of
their own products.
For this reason, 3Gen plans to build
up co-operation oppertunities with
capable Korean companies who are
also looking for good solutions. 3Gen
believe they will increase overseas
sales through domestic and global
networking.
"IntelliSAN SAS RM120" a SAN storage solution, supplying a hardware servers with
a technology to prevent data loss
KEJ
U-life
a year or two at its own expense to do
stenography until the system became
familiar to them. With full support from
ezCaretech, the physicians transformed into Supermen and Wonder
women doctor within the space of a
few years.
ezCaretech and
the Sisyphean
Challenge
Can technology and healthcare
ever go hand in hand? We take a look at one
company who say they already do.
e
zCaretech is the child of Seoul
National University Hospital and
some IT experts. Its efforts
have given the supermen and wonder
women Doctors of Seoul National
University Bundang Hospital a new
supernatural power - the ability to
answer to a call within the space of a
few seconds.
The seven-year old ezCaretech is
determined to see its their huge boulder stay at the top of the hill, like
Sisyphus in the Greek myth. In the
story, Sisyphus was condemned to
push a giant rock up to the top of a
hill, though every time he got near the
top, it slipped and rolled back to the
bottom.
And every time ezCaretech reaches
the top, Zeus seems to display his
cleverness and sends ezCaretech
back for more frustration. However, it
seems ezCaretech's Sisyphean task
over the last five years has finally paid
off, with a large return on investment
last year.
Lee Chul-hee, President of
ezCaretech, defines the company as
a Total Medial IT Service enterprise
which enables the digitalization of
hospitals by providing software, customization, and IT outsourcing.
Lee says, "What makes our product
unique is that our system is the masterpiece of cooperation between doctors and engineers. A year before the
Seoul National University Hospital
building was planned to be built in
Bundang by 2003, just as many fellows and nurses were hired as engineers to build the software together.
All of the same people who
researched the software for a year are
currently working at the Bundang
base."
This itself guarantees that the
ezCaretech's products were build to
satisfy all doctors, nurses, and the
patients. Seoul National University
Hospital's medical innovation began
with ezCaretech's "4-less system".
For them, that meant "slip-less, filmless, paperless, and chartless".
As Doctor Lee Hak-jong of the
Department of Radiology at Seoul
National University Bundang Hospital
(SNUBH) said in his last interview in
December, "Slip-less" means the
automatic electronic transfer of the
doctor's prescriptions in the office to
pharmacies and labs.
ezCare
-Picture
Archiving
Communication System allows filmless checking and interpreting of Xrays, scans, and MRI results on com-
President Lee Chul-hee of
ezCaretech
puter right after the film was taken.
Paperless solutions, ezCare-Office,
computerizes every possible bit of
paperwork during the administration
to save time in decision-making and
sharing information.
Lastly, a chartless solution is enabled
by ezCare-Electronic Medical Record,
which saves patients' medical history,
drug responses, health conditions,
hospitalization and discharge records
in computer. ezCare-EMR also offers
Clinical Data Repository, which
enables systematic management of
accumulated clinical data and Data
Warehouse to analyze variety medical
information.
These are the solutions that make a
ubiquitous hospital possible. The
actual solution to enable convenient
access anywhere and anytime, however, was not always the kind of news
most doctors in country wanted.
When the EMR was first introduced to
local doctor's offices, it took a while for
ezCaretech to convince all the doctors
to make transition from transitional
paper chart to electronic chart.
Not only did ezCaretech install the
software on general hospitals' computers, but it also sometimes had to
provide Physician Assistance (PA) for
The nine stars that make up the
SNUBH constellation including Seoul
Internal Medicine, Seohyun Seoul
Internal Medicine, and Chang Internal
Medicine are cooperating to take a
step further towards the idea of ubiquitous healthcare of its true definition,
chartless mobility - anywhere and
anytime.
If a patient's medical records from a
local doctor's office are not transferable to the big hospitals, the trendy
idea of U-healthcare will never be
completed.
President Lee Chul-hee said, "Even if
all the u-health services and devices
start to pour out, the establishment of
so called Ubiquitous Healthcare service is only a failure if it can't provide a
direct link between physicians and
patients."
The next set of SNUBH Constellations
should be made in spite of a tension
between local doctor's offices and the
general hospitals. The ideal theory of
bigger hospitals taking local Doctor's
offices' patients is outdated.
U-Health and the balance between
medical policies is the key to the conflict. Medical services should be
adjusted to individual's preferences
and there is more than one way to
obstruct big firm's monopolization.
For example, for those who prefer to
visit general hospitals for minor illness. It is rather a big loss for a big
hospital to examine a flu patient. But
if a patient wants to be examined at
the general hospital by paying extra,
why should it be restricted?
A successful example case of this is
SNUH Healthcare Systems' Gangnam
Center in Gangnam, Seoul.
"This center was build for VIPs' health
examination, and running successfully. We are seeking to build more institutions like this," said manager Park
Chan-ho.
So, should all EMRs or digital systems
be standardized in the interests of the
government? Korea recently signed a
MOU agreement with an American
company, Intermountain, to develop
Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems in collaboration.
It is seeking to create global standardization of EHR system by 2010 to take
a step closer towards ubiquitous
healthcare system.
ezCaretech is heavily participating in
EHR research assignments and the
Ministry of Health and Welfare's RFID
research and development while independently investing 5% of their profit
on research and development to
upgrade their solution and software.
Why then, are companies like
ezCaretech and Yonsei University
Health System using their time and
effort to help someone else build a
bus, when they have already successfully built Corvettes or Mustangs that
are waiting to be upgraded? Can
there only be one kind of EHR system?
"As long as the core is uniform, the
outward style or appearance can take
on new forms," said Lee, "There
should be several levels of standardization since each client's preferences
are different. For example, the size of
database and data format varies due
to the size of a hospital. Clients also
prefer different user interfaces and
design. Even if hospitals are of a
comparable size, the business
processes are different."
Lee also suggests that as long as protocols are kept during information
exchange, the electronic healthcare
system should be left as customized
development software.
Why would a local clinic need a superdome database system? Surely,
something like that would be far
beyond the needs of the average clinic, and the unnecessary bloat will be
inefficient. What the medical IT companies need are guidelines and several levels of standardization to allow
interoperability.
However Lee is not so sure. He said,
"Medical IT companies are not just
simple companies that provide IT services. That is because every single
thing they have to offer has a direct
relationship with a patient's life."
He added, "About six months ago, we
decided that innovation, enthusiasm,
trust, and professionalism were characteristics a professional medical IT
enterprise should have. Our main
concern is how to satisfy the entire citizen body with a useful service.
Therefore, the title of Number One
Medical IT Company doesn't mean
much unless we have fulfilled our ultimate goal of improving every citizen's
quality of life."
Pointless or seemingly impossible
activities are often described as
Sisyphean. ezCaretech, though, have
succeeded not only to build a huge
boulder in seven years, but to roll it up
near the top of the hill as well. Is the
struggle itself towards the summit
enough in itself, or do we need to see
the task completed in order to be
happy? That, for some, at least, is the
question of the year.
For more information about this company, please visit www.ezcaretech.com
CGE
Academia
KPU
Korea Polytechnic University Wants to Lead
Korea to Greater Prosperity
University graduates have had an incredible 100% employment rate since its
founding, thanks mainly to the school's customized education programs.
Particularly, it has constructed
a healthy cooperative system
with industry through the
"Family Companies," mostly
small and medium-sized
enterprises throughout Korea.
This network has been instrumental in promoting cooperation and exchanges with local
businesses. These efforts
have contributed greatly to
the school's remarkable
growth into one of the universities most highly esteemed
by the government and the
industrial world, doing all this
in a relatively short period.
Dean Choi Joon-young of Korea Polytechnic University
K
orea Polytechnic University
(KPU) commemorates its 10th
anniversary this year. The university has come a long way since it
opened in a rugged environment amid
toddling industrial compounds in 1997.
KPU has served as a leading role,
dealing with several difficulties to
achieve its goal of producing capable
engineers with innovative minds to
lead a knowledge-based industrial
society in the 21st century. It has thereby established itself firmly as Korea's
most prestigious educational institution
for industrial engineers, expediting
cooperation between academia and
business and contributing to the
nation's competitiveness in industrial
technology.
In addition, amid deepening of
unemployment woes among
young adults, Korea Polytechnic
University graduates have enjoyed an
unparalleled 100% employment rate
since its founding.
Behind its stunning achievements is a
new paradigm of customized education
programs, - such as "family companies," "project on-the-job training credits," and "engineering house." These
programs symbolize the university's
all-out effort to bolster the industryacademia cooperative system.
Additionally, KPU is recognized as one
of the nation's top engineering universities in terms of the amount of
research funding per professor and
education cost per student. Its excellence has been verified through various appraisals by concerned agencies.
Korea Polytechnic University has also
achieved remarkable results, despite
its short history, in terms of the rate of
applications they receive. The general
screening for the academic year 2008
was highly competitive, with 15.5 applicants for each place. It also marked an
application rate of 19 to one place last
year, the highest competitive rate of in
the university's history. The rate has
been soaring, exceeding a level of 15
applications to one place, during two
consecutive years. Many believe this is
due to the excellent employment rate
of students at the university.
In particular, Korea Polytechnic
University focuses on providing trained
and customized talent for small and
mid-sized companies facing a severe
labor shortage. It laid firm foundations,
offering students with practically
applicable expertise to help with specializing in adjusting themselves to
small and mid-sized companies.
It also linked a variety of industry-academia cooperation programs to the regular curriculum, and reflected growing
demands from small and mid-sized
companies into the academic curriculum.
As a result, the employment rate and
candidate students' application are
simultaneously increasing. In particular, students are required to be given
on-the-job training at mid and smallsized companies, at least four months
during vacation periods, according to
school regulations, and are required to
score high in their training evaluations.
It greatly contributes to the increasing
employment of students in a natural
manner. In addition, Korea Polytechnic
University spares no efforts to creating
a "company-friendly" environment, by
coping with the increasing demands
from the industry. For example, it considers the industry's requests in rearranging the academic curriculum,
designing laboratories, and purchasing
equipment.
"Family companies" is a system that is
mutually beneficial to both company
and university, by forging a family-like
close relationship between the two. It is
a prime example, underlining the
importance of the partnership. Korea
Polytechnic University has already
established a cooperative network for
industry-academia with about 3,400
"family companies," as of early this
month, marking the highest number of
networks among universities nationwide.
With the advantage that KPU is the
only university located in a commercial
area, this system has successfully built
a flexible and continuously cooperative
structure that has been acclaimed as a
role model, one which can lead in the
innovation of the competitive power of
small and medium companies. The
family companies system maintains
that 20 companies, on average, are
under control by one professor in the
school.
Another aspect that we need to take a
closer look at is that all the lessons of
the university put priorities on helping
students gain deeper insight into practicality and applicable expertise in the
industry, rather than theoretical
lessons. Therefore, students find it
easy to adjust themselves to the completely new environment in the workplace.
That is because KPU has been striving
to cultivate industry-friendly students,
by understanding the demands of
small and mid-sized companies facing
the chronic technological labor shortage.
The university serves to get rid of the
inconveniences that the companies are
confronted with in retraining students
into a skillful labor force. In particular,
approximately 90% of the total workers
are reported to move into small and
mid-sized companies.
The students are highly welcomed by
companies, now that they can be put
into the workforce without exhaustive
training. In particular, KPU is actively
engaged in encouraging industryacademia cooperation by facilitating
the professor achievements review
system. Above all, full-time professors
have considerable accumulated experiences in the industry after gaining
their doctoral degree. They serve as a
bridge, linking the companies'
demands to students' career.
It is widely considered that Korea
Polytechnic University faces a need to
seek measures to develop the existing
industry-academia cooperation model
in a constructive and sound manner,
after undergoing the rational reviewing
process. In particular, it is of great
importance to review and analyze the
Technology and Innovation Park (TIP)
model, a new win-win model that companies and university have made concerted efforts to develop over the last
one year.
This year marks the first anniversary of
the founding of the TIP model, where
companies, university, and students
gather to carry out all the activities education, research and development,
and life - in one place. The TIP building
is fully equipped with an engineering
house, a dormitory, and conveniences
facilities, which are designed to further
promote the support for professors and
entrepreneurial researchers as well as
students.
Korea Polytechnic University fully realizes that it is even more important how
it works in the next 10 years than during its proud first decade. In this
regard, the university now renews its
resolution to concentrate all its energy
on mobilizing local enterprises to join
forces to create an infrastructure for
regional reform through its Engineering
House. It will, thereby, be able to
enrich the national economy and make
a leap to become a model institution for
Northeast Asian industry.
Korea Polytechnic University has
achieved remarkable results, by marking qualitative and quantitative growth
over the last decade, and laid a firm
foundation for facilitating the university's development, by creating its
unique brand as Korea's leading university in terms of the industry-academia cooperation.
KPU proclaimed the KPU Vision 2020,
a blueprint for the university's mid- and
long-term development designed to
cultivate the globally competitive engineers at the 10th anniversary ceremony held last December.
In particular, KPU plans to create its
second campus of 330580m2 by harmonizing research and development
facilities with production lines at the
Shihwa Multi Techno Valley, known as
the Shihwa MTV, a high-tech, complex
new city.
As Korea's only authentic polytechnic
university, Korea Polytechnic
University will continue to create new
values for the future of Korean industry
and lead the nation to a new era of
greater prosperity.
Just as Stanford University lies at the
heart of Silicon Valley, Korea
Polytechnic University is nestled amid
Korea's major industrial parks. Thus,
the university is building a regional
reform system, linking academia and
industry to perform at the heart of the
Northeast Asian industrial network.
KHS
Congratulations
Local Government
on the inauguration of the
17th President Lee Myung-bak
Busan Metropolitan
Government Vows to
Usher in a New Era
A Vision to Promote the Region’s
Future Development
T
he
Busan
Metropolitan
Government proclaimed a "new
era to restore the local economy," and presented ten visions needed to promote the region's future
development, among various impending issues facing Busan. It is also
committed to step into a higher plane
towards the achievement of its goal to
become the world's leading city. In
this regard, the government intends to
carry out its plans, depending on the
regional blocs of the city, for the effective implementation of the initiatives.
First, it aims to provide more sites to
the industrial complex located in the
western bloc of Busan, and create the
"Gangseo high-tech canal and logistics industrial city," expecting to serve
as a driving force for the city's future
growth. Busan will also take procedural steps to secure additional sites for
the Busan New Port and distriparks,
and establish core infrastructures to
develop Busan as a hub of Northeast
Asia. At the same time, it also plans
to complete construction work on a
new airport in the southern part of
Busan at the earliest possible date.
The government also said that Busan
would drive forward with urban rehabilitation projects - such as the North
Port Re-development Project and
installment of the KTX subterranean
line. It will also be actively engaged in
promoting the formation of the Busan
civil park, which came to a standstill,
due to conflicting opinions between
Korean and U.S. governments surrounding a environmental pollution
examination.
The Busan government also unveiled
its pledge to undergo administrative
procedures, including construction
design, for the comprehensive development of the Moonhyun Financial
Complex, within this year.
As part of its efforts, the city will construct a tourism and convention cluster by developing the East Busan
tourism
complex
and
the
Haewoondae tourism resort, and the
expanding of the BEXCO facilities in
the eastern part of Busan.
Busan is also starting construction
work on the image center and image
fitting facilities, which will make up the
city's film and image town. This
matches with the city's fame for Asia's
premium film festival, the Busan
International Film Festival.
At the same time, the government will
expand the metropolitan transportation
network in the southeastern part of
Busan by building a beltway at the outskirts of the city, expanding the
Nakdong Great Bridge, and conducting
projects for the installment of a double
track line for the Donghae Southern
Line and Gyeongjeon Line. It will also
spare no effort to gain official government recognition, as it announced its
bid for the 2020 Summer Olympic
Games, within this year.
In particular, the new government puts
its highest priority on becoming one of
the world's top seven economic powers, with a national per capita income
of 40,000 dollars. In this regard, innovative changes are expected to come
throughout all sectors of society,
resulting in numerous economic policies designed to revive the national
economy - such as the deregulation
and creation of a investment-friendly
environment.
Additionally, Busan will strengthen its
social welfare policies designed for
low-income people with its ultimate
aim of allowing people to live rich and
comfortable lives. It will also center its
attention on creating a comfortable
city where people can enjoy their
lives, by forming a citizen-oriented
transportation environment and managing urban maintenance in an environmentally- friendly manner.
Creative Leader in Export Credit
Korea Eximbank
No doubt, Busan is one of Korea's
greatest tourist attractions with an
excellent, business-friendly environment. The Busan Metropolitan
Government will make every effort to
create the "Marine Capital of
Northeast Asia." It is Busan’s sincere
hope that it will emerge as a leading
global city, where global companies,
logistics, talented people, and tourists
want to come.
KHS
www.koreaexim.go.kr
Contribution
O
n January 1, 2008,
the Ministry of
National Defense
issued an alert warning
about hacking attacks from
Ko Ki-wan, a senior reporter
overseas on computers that
with the Korea Economic Daily
belong to individual soldiers. It was uncommon
indeed that the Ministry
responded like that on the first day of the year.
The Ministry explained that it found some hackers based
on a third country logging on and taking out confidential
files. The path the hackers took was sending e-mails to soldiers.
The name of the e-mails was "An Update on North Korean
Forces." When a soldier opens the eye-catching e-mail,
hackers can immediately have accesses to the internal
computer networks of the Ministry where top military
secrets are kept. Later that day, the finger of blame was
pointed at China, but this was not confirmed.
Although alerts failed to draw a great deal of attention amid
the New Year celebrations, hacking watchdogs emphasized the uncommon situation should be dealt seriously in
that military authorities admitted foreign hackers tried to
break into the networks, announcing alerts hurridly, even
on the first day of the year, and that the hacking was done
by a "third country", not by a single individual.
If a third country is
involved in the hacking drama, it
can possibly be translated as a new form of
war on cyber network
If it is a cyber Cold War, Mcafee, the biggest computer
security company based on U.S.A., may have a property
rights on the introduction of such a war. Mcafee issued its
ambitious cyber crime report in November last year in
which the concept of cyber war was included.
It warned in the report that hackers sponsored by governments across the world were believed to attack, on pur-
pose, the computer networks in companies, military organization, and foreign governments to steal valuable information. Mcafee reached a conclusion that the cold war
between the U.S.A. and the Soviet Union was actually
replaced by a new version of cyber Cold War.
The difference between these two cold wars, it put, is that
there is no ideology, no geographical boundaries, worse
than that, no days and nights. Finally, it declared that the a
cyber Cold War had broken out.
Evidences seem to be clear to prove the declaration.
Estonia in Europe experienced in April last year "Die-hard
4.0," an American movie where all computer networks
were conquered and controlled by hackers.
Two months later, the Pentagon was under attack by hackers. The Foreign Policy, a magazine on foreign diplomacy,
pointed out that the news of the year readers missed in
2007 would be the beginning of the cyber Cold War and
declared that 2007 was the first year of the war.
The preying lions roaring for in the jungle of war were the
countries well-advanced in Internet, like South Korea,
who tend to use it rather than to to protect themselves
from anti-security attempts.
Companies and governmental organizations who ignore security
will be torn to death digitally. According to the
National Information and Security department, or NIS, the number of hacking attempts
against the Korean government networks amounts to
100 million cases a day. We could see just how serious it
was on the first day of the year when Defense Ministry was
on alert.
So, which countries would be on the lists of "war criminals"
in this new cold war? Watchdogs do not hesitate to point
fingers at China, North Korea, Russia, USA, and South
Korea, and so forth. Those countries are evaluated to have
high level of equipment, networks, manpower, money and
moreover, the reason to campaign in this covert war.
The Estonians learnt their lesson the hard way, allegedly at
the hands of Russia. The April disaster that happened in
Estonia shocked the nation politically and economically.
The Baltic country was devastated by a hacking attack.
Internet networks of government organizations, the media,
financial companies malfunctioned for three weeks, the
worst ever incident in the history of hacking. Estonia had no
choice but to bow to the DDoS (Denials of Service) attacks
which paralyzes the networks by inputting a level of traffic
that is too much for servers to cope with.
Estonia suspected that Russia was behind it, pointing out
that the attack was made right after the sculpture of the
deceased Russian soldiers stationed in the capital city,
Tallinn, were moved on by the Estonian government.
The Minister of Information and Communication made it
public claims that the Russian government did it to destroy
their society. But Kremlin spokesmen denied there was any
truth in Estonia's claims.
After the Estonia-Russia conflict, similar cyber attacks followed. In August 2007, prime minister's office, and three
ministries in Germany had to investigate cyber attackers.
Germany found that some spy programs had been installed
to transmit German information to Lanzhou, China every
day.
The German government blamed China, saying China desperately needed information on prime-minister Angela
Merkel's announcements to be unpacked during her visit to
China. The Chinese authorities rebuked the claim. Two
months before the German allegation, the
Pentagon was attacked by cyber spies.
Some computer systems and
e-mails of assistants to the Defense Minister
were the targets. The Defense Minister, exceptionally,
came out and admitted that the attacks had been very successful. The Ministry also cast a suspicious eye at China.
But tit-for-tat attacks are still going on, surrounding the conflicts among the super powers.
What is more serious is that the three cases are the tip of
the iceberg. 99 percent of what happened in cyber cold war
tends to be unknown and to remain confidential because
nobody can identify the hackers. An expert on NATO said
that some countries have no ability to trace back the hackers and to install firewalls against the attacks. Mcafee
believes that just about everybody is hacking everybody.
South Korea is no exception. According to the Ministry of
Information and Communication, 7,588 cases of hacking
were recorded in 2007, an increase of 77 percent compared to 2006. The attacks were mainly campaigned on
such ministries of Foreign Affairs and Commerce,
Unification, and Government Administration and Home
Affairs. An official from the NIS confessed that South Korea
is struggling to defend itself from the cyber bombings coming from outside.
Over the past ten years, relations between North and
South Korea have been improving, with a mood of reconciliation in the air. But on the cyber frontline they have
exchanged fire. It is likely that off-line peace is one thing,
but on-line war is another.
According to a reliable source, North Korea has been
launching cyber attacks since 2004 when South Korean
military authorities confirmed the acts of North Korea. The
access Point on the Internet was from China, but South
Korean agencies claimed that North Korea did it because
North Korea has no national domain and bought some
Internet Protocol (IP) in China.
For two months beginning in April, 314 computers in the
National Assembly, Nuclear Atomic Research, Defense
Research Center, Airforce University, were exposed to the
clicks of hackers.
Song Young-keun of
Defense Security Command
reported in the National Assembly
that North Korea had organized a hacking troop to attack South Korea. An estimated 600 cyber warriors are burning the midnight oil
to get access to information on Korea, Japan, and
other enemies.
They are all experts who were evaluated as "geniuses" on
computers in schools across North Korea. Sources said
that North Korea is operating a secure facility in some
place in China to launch cyber attack against South Korea.
The North Korea Computer Center (KCC) in Pyongyang,
the capital city, controls all cyber activities in North Korea.
What is ironical is that underdeveloped countries in Africa
without any advanced computer system are the strongest
countries against cyber attacks. As long as one country is
connected along with others on Internet Protocols, it is destined to be vulnerable to cyber attacks, especially to such
hacking tools as DDoSes, Psishing scams, and BotNets.
When a company gets contaminated with DDoS, the system shuts down. Pshishing is a malicious, harmful webpage that tries to make people click on it. When users click
on icons on it, their information will be transmitted automatically to their attackers.
In the cyber Cold War, nobody knows who their attacker is.
It is certain that no casualties and dead bodies are reported
in the war, but the damage is very severe indeed. In order
to defend your country from the unexpected defeat perfectly, it is recommended to demolish all of your computerized
networks.
And can anyone do that?
KKW ([email protected])
Interview
Turkey
Turkish-Korean relations over the years
The Changing Face Of
Korea in Turkey
Turkey-South Korea relations date back to the war in 1950-53. As a NATO member,
Turkey sent three brigades to contribute to South Korea s struggle. Following the war
years, both countries recognized each other in 1957 and kicked off political relations.
Over the last 50 years, the economy of South Korea has improved significantly. At the
end of the war in 1953, its national income was less than even many African countries. Then per capita income was only 70 USD in Korea and 144 USD in Turkey.
When we look at today's figures, it is 4,000 USD in Turkey, but 15,000 USD in Korea.
The trade and economic relations between Turkey and Korea registered a considerable increase in the late 1980s. As Turkey has mainly imported industrialized goods,
South Korean companies made big investment in Turkish market, especially in the
automotive sector.
As Turkey makes its mark on the International stage,
we take a closer look at Korean-Turkish relations in 2008.
By Dondu Sarisiik
Kibar thinks trade opportunities
between Korea and Turkey will
continue to develop
outh Korea was a fairytale
country only 15 years ago for
Turkish children, whose grandfathers served in the military with the
NATO effort in the Korean War.
S
But rather than those black and white
war memories, Korea today means
LG plasma TVs, Samsung mobile
phones and Hyundai automobiles in
Turkey. Ali Kibar is one of the first
businessmen who opened the doors
for Korea-Turkey joint investments.
Now, he is the Co-Chairman of the
Turkish-Korean Business Council.
KITT(Korea IT Times): How do you
evaluate Turkey-Korea trade relations? What is the current volume?
Ali Kibar: Both countries buy and sell
goods from each other. However,
when we compare import and export
figures, we can see Turkish exporters
are a way behind their Korean counterparts. Just as an example, the
Turkey-Korea export rate is was 0.
02% in 2005. It slightly increased to 0.
04% in 2006, but decreased to 0.03%
in 2007.
There are 51 Korea-based firms and
88 Turkish-Korean joint investments
in the fields of IT, automobiles, electronic, tourism, industry and mining.
Hyundai made the biggest South
Korean investment in a partnership
with Kibar Holding, at cost of 230 million USD in 1997.
KITT: How much does IT sector
consist of this amount?
AK: The trade volume is around
4,521.1 million USD according to
2007 official figures. IT makes up
around 18% of this amount.
KITT: Looking at the profile of
Korean IT companies, operational
in Turkey, how do they against
their rivals - Sony, Fuji and so on in the Turkish market?)
AK: Korean companies had to cut
prices in order to survive against their
rivals in Turkish market since they had
a low-quality profile 15-20 years ago.
To sell cheaper products was the only
way to introduce themselves to consumers here.
The investment in R&D and product
quality has turned the market around
and companies have started selling at
higher prices. They even sell some
products at higher prices than their
Japanese counterparts today.
KITT: What kind of investments can
you envisage for 2008? Will there
be any new Korean business players in Turkey?)
AK: I think we will see new Korean
investments in 2008. I know Hyosung
will invest in raw textile goods and
products with polyester. Rotem will be
here for transportation and railways.
Hyundai will do more in automotive
and rustproof metal sheet. There will
be additional names, too.
KITT: What events are there in your
agenda to conduct in seeking new
cooperation opportunities?
AK: As the Turkish - Korean Business
Council, we are planning to carry out a
series of events and mutual visits to
reach higher trade cooperation. Two
meetings - one in Korea and one in
Turkey - are planned for the future.
During the meetings, we will look for
new cooperation opportunities, evaluate trade volume situation and discuss
what kind of products Turkey can provide for Korea.
The priority to boost bilateral trade
and economic relations is to support
Korean investments in Turkey. Not
only big industrial ones, it is also
important to provide middle-sized
investors with incentives. It is a big
advantage that South Korean companies see Turkey a central base to
reach all countries in the region.
What is the Turkish-Korean Business Council?
Turkish-Korean Business Council was established in
1989 under the umbrella of Foreign Economic Board
(DEIK) and the Korea's Chamber of Trade and
Industry (KCTI).
To date, the council has organized eleven meetings to
boost bilateral relations between two countries as well
as managed the high level attendance by political
leaders to eliminate the difficulties that Korean and
Turkish businessmen face up. The 8th meeting took
place during Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan s
visit to Seoul in February 2004. South Korean
President Roh Moo-Hyun was present at the 10th
meeting in April 2005 in Istanbul, too. The latest meeting happened on September 5 2007, in Istanbul.
As a result of the cooperation between DEIK and
KCTI, a number of Korean companies invested in
Turkey and also based joint investments with Turkish
partners in Iraq.
Korean Interest in Turkey:
SK Telecom is interested in Turkish Telecom, which is
included in Turkey's privatization portfolio. The
Korean firm has also expressed interest in the GSM
(global system for mobile communications) operator
Telsim.
Korean Air has started flights between Incheon and
Istanbul.
Netpia, a Korean IT company, has decided to introduce next-generation Internet technology in Turkey
that will allow the use of special characters in the
Turkish alphabet and improve efficiency in e-commerce and e-government.
The Korea Agency for Digital Opportunity and
Promotion (KADO) and the Turkish Informatics
Foundation (TBV) signed a protocol for cooperation in
information and communication technologies.
The Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) signed
credit agreements with two major Turkish banks, Yapi
Kredi and Is Bankasi. According to these agreements,
credit agreements with terms varying between two
and five years will be opened to Turkish companies
importing goods and services from Korea.
The Korean Institute of Export Insurance opened
credits to two major Turkish industrial groups, Koc
and Zorlu.
Turkey and Korea have discussed cooperation
prospects in the defense industry, tourism, maritime
transportation, and cooperation in third party countries
(especially in the construction sector in Iraq).
Contribution
Time to Go Back to Basics
Some companies need to get away from the drawing board and
focus on the bigger picture. If not, they risk alienating the
customers who pay their bills, says Kim Eun-sil
want to show you something really funny. Come
here," said my sister. She was laughing her head off
when she called me into her room.
"I
She was at her computer, watching an online video clip of
JoA, a new "cyber actress" - a computer-generated character which can perform at the request of the company that
designed her. The "actress" was dancing to a Korean pop
song that has become about as famous as the national
anthem - "Tell Me," by teen group Wondergirls.
I think the idea was that she was supposed to be provocative, but it actually made for some pretty painful viewing; it
was frightening stuff. It was supposed to look sexy, but it
looked more like something from a horror film. Actually JoA
was not even "she" for me, more like some kind of "it."
The company which created her were showing off their high
technology-motion-capture capabilies. They seemed proud
of how realistic her clothes looked, and how realistic her hair
was - according to them, their biggest achievement.
JoA was "ordered" to dance with an expressionless face so
as to highlight how good her hair, clothes and movement
looked. Ironically, their choice, one which they took in order
to make her look better, caused a problem that I had never
considered could be a problem in a sprite created by IT.
The company wanted to create a cyber actress who had
something in common with humans. But what instilled this
fear in me was the fact that she never blinked once in the
whole video.
It was a blink that JoA needed in order to be human, not brilliant hair or realistic clothes. It seems such a tiny thing that
might, one that could easily have been forgotten, but that
was big mistake because no one can live without blinking.
devices with flashy features and advanced functions, but
although these gadgets look great, are well designed and
must sound fantastic in a boardroom meeting, they often
ignore or forget about what the eventual users are buying
them for.
Mobile phones are our best electronic friends, they are
closer to us than any other thing else - until it their batteries
run out, that is. They become useless lumps of metal as
soon as the power goes off, however wonderful their functions may be. Mobiles pick up new features every day, but
it seems mobile makers pay little attention to how long the
batteries on their marvelous products last.
When I was studying English in a language school, my
classmates had a lot of fun because of our electronic dictionaries. We called them 'Konglish machines' because they
were full of incorrect and poorly-translated expressions.
It was funny at the time, but in reality it is a tragedy for
Korean students; they spend time and money on expensive
dictionaries to learn English but most electronic dictionaries
are not good enough no matter how great functions they
have. An electronic dictionary needs to be first and foremost a 'dictionary', not a five gigabyte MP3 player with ultra
fine LCD display.
The electronics giants warring over which format was better
- Blu-ray Disc or HD DVD, might have done better to
remember that audiences are much more concerned by
what happens at the end of the movie they are watching
than by how high-quality the images on their screens are.
If the JoA is reading this, she might worry herself sick but
the answer is simple, and even boring. Just blink. If companies could just focus a little more on the basics, they
might end up spreading a little more of that precious
commodity - customer satisfaction.
It was another unfortunate example of developers
ignoring the basics and focusing on tiny, intricate
details. But JoA is not alone in the IT world.
Koreans are surrounded by electronic
Exhibition
KOTRA
Smaller Businesses Hope to Reap CeBIT Benefits
The IT world is growing more and more competitive, but it is not the big hitters
who need to step up their game - Smaller companies who must carry the torch
for the sake of the Korean economy.
people in the business to be
the world's biggest IT fair. It
will be held from the 4th to
the 9th of March in 2008, and
Korean companies know that
this is their big chance to
show the world what they can
do.
Ham Jeong-oh, Director General of the IT and
Electronics Industry and marketing team at KOTRA
t is something that never fails to
amaze non-Koreans - Koreans
abroad are as happy when they
see the Samsung logo as when they
hear their own national anthem.
I
Having big chaebols, super-companies
like Hyundai, LG and Samsung hailing
from these shores is certainly something to be proud of for a country like
Korea - a country than only industrialized in the latter part of last century.
However, resting on the laurels of the
big boys may not be a good idea,
according to experts in the fields of
investment. Actually, it is the small fry
that really count when it comes to the
building blocks of the Korean economy. If the small and medium sized
companies fail to globalize and turn
into the next LG, Korea runs the risk
of becoming also-rans in the Asian
race for the export market.
The Centre of Office and Information
Technology exhibition, the CeBIT
show, is held every year in Hannover,
Germany, and is considered by most
CeBIT 2008 is expected to be
the biggest fair of its kind, and
the Korea Trade Investment
Promotion Agency, or
KOTRA, has high hopes for
the CeBIT this year.
KOTRA is officially a non-profit organization, and receives funding from the
Korean government. It attempts to
help Korean companies by introducing overseas buyers to the most
appropriate business partners in
Korea through an extensive network
of contacts and advisory services.
Ham Jeong-oh is the Director General
of the IT and Electronics Industry and
marketing team at KOTRA. He says
that CeBIT can help smaller Korean
companies put themselves, and the
country, on the map.
He says, "Most Korean companies at
CeBIT have their own unique technologies, targeted at a niche market.
As larger companies tend to dominate
the big markets, niches become more
and more important for smaller companies. Bluetooth and Home
Networks are examples of this, and
there are a lot of Korean companies
working with things like this at CeBIT
2008. It is harder for bigger companies to target niches, so that is where
smaller companies come in."
But Korea is not alone in having lots of
promising small companies - the rest
of Asia is also bristling with young,
innovative IT projects eager to get off
the ground. And with countries like
China able to boast cheaper labor
costs, many believe that it will be hard
for Korea to compete against companies that can be more competitive
than them when it comes to prices.
However, Ham says smaller companies need to rethink their international
strategies if they want to succeed. He
has worked in China, and believes
Korean companies need to shift their
focus away from China. He says,
"China has always been the big rival
for Korea, but we have to consign that
ideology to the past now. People here
used to look down on Chinese products, thinking they were cheap and
inferior, but quality has radically
improved in recent years."
The Chinese economic miracle has
meant a seismic shift in the way
Korean companies need do business,
according to Ham. "The price war
days have gone," he says, "Korea
now needs to recognize that when it
comes to IT, its natural competitors
are not China and Vietnam, but the
USA and Japan. We need to focus on
core technologies, and time and effort
needs to keep on going into research
and development. It's time to develop
or die for many businesses."
However, just being good at what they
do is not enough for Korean company,
thinks Ham. He says business strate-
gies need to be well thought-out if companies are to succeed in the global
market. "Improving quality and lowering prices are obviously things that
make companies more competitive
wherever they are, but Korean smaller
businesses need to realize the need
for aggressive marketing abroad. That
is something that KOTRA can help with
- we have 93 offices worldwide, and
can offer a vast network of support."
However, it is not all doom and gloom
for Korean companies, according to
Ham. He believes that companies here
do have a certain edge over foreign
enterprises, especially when it comes
to the famous Korean work ethic.
Says Ham, "Koreans have a unique
characteristic - they are obsessed with
the idea of doing their utmost at all
times. Our sense of diligence and
hard work is incomparable with most
other countries. Our business style is
unique. There are no excuses for
things that have not been done - just
results."
Indeed, Ham thinks this is a special
talent that other nations cannot boast.
He adds, " Koreans take pride in their
work, and this sense of integrity
makes them attractive business partners for foreign buyers and investors."
And the CeBIT 2008 exhibition will
allow plenty of opportunities for the
Korean participants to show off their
worth. KOTRA have put together a
special DVD for the Korean companies at the fair, and have set up a
scheme called Online Business
Partnering (OBP).
OBP allows companies and potential
buyers to browse through companies'
goods and to allow conversation
between the two parties before the fair
has even begun, thus potentially saving both groups a lot of time when
they are at CeBIT.
There will be four halls of Korean
exhibitors at CeBIT, and a wellequipped presentation area set up by
KOTRA for smaller businesses who
cannot display the full value of their
products from their booths.
With all this support, Korean businesses are hoping to do well from
CeBIT 2008 as they venture into the
difficult times ahead in an IT industry
that is becoming more competitive by
the day.
TA
Some of the eye-catching products on display from the
Korean companies at CeBIT 2008
"Nouveau" Dimming Pattern Switch (NV0404)
The Nouveau’s sophisticated design is introduced
by the JoongAng Control, who has been in business
for 20 years and have four utility models and two
patents.
The "Nouveau" makes it possible to sense and control lighting and illumination scene and temperature
adjustment with a single switch and the control circuits are consisted of on/off four circuits and dimming four circuits. The home environment can be
controlled by home network systems and telephone, using a RS-485 communication system.
Stereo Bluetooth Headset (GBH-S100)
This headset, the first of its kind in the world will be
displayed by GT Telecom. Not only does it have a
multi-point function with a connection up to three
devices: a cell phone, a MP3 player and a computer, it also has improved sound quality with special
technology that equips noise suppression and echo
cancellation.
In addition, its maximum stand by time is 60 days in
an ultra power save mode. It folds when there is an
incoming call, and it also can protect users from
making calls by accident with an auto key lock.
"CheckTap"
Turning off a computer, a monitor, a printer, a scanner, a speaker, a fan and a heater seperatly is not
needed with this smart device, "CheckTap" which is
introduced by the Incasolution. It senses real-time
using of a computer, and in case all electronics are
turned on but not used, it cuts off the relevant instrument automatically. This automatic control system
of energy saving takes pride bringing about a 50%
plus power saving, boasting fire risk prevention,
device protection and environmental education.
In-depth Report
How
How is
is IT
IT
transforming
transforming
Korea?
Korea?
The fifth of a tenpart series
n Korea, the digital camera is called as Dica, for short.
Until five years ago, Dica was single. All it really cared
about was upgrading itself constantly by adapting everything it could possibly do to improve its image quality and
its zooming ability.
I
Four years ago, Dica went out on a first date with a camcorder and grabbed full attention from the publicity. A year
later, it changed its partner to an MP3 player, but it was
soon found itself together with a Portable Multimedia
Player (PMP).
The second generation digital cameras and cellular phones
are thinking of moving in together, calling themselves
DicaPhone, meaning Digital Camera Phone.
So, how are the digital camera and its changing partners
changing Korea?
Koreans have become more familiar with the visual media
than printed media over the last five years. Studies show
that people today are more in favor of being entertained by
images and video than reading.
The National Statistical Office analyzed that the workers in
the city area are spending 34.9% on entertainment. On the
other hand, the expense rate on books and magazines
stopped at 5.1%.
Now that Koreas' full attention is given to visual media, digital cameras have turned into a ubiquitous item. This was
proven by 88.9% increase in production of digital electronics including cameras.
With digital cameras everywhere, everybody can now be a
field reporter. We call these people "citizen reporters".
"Dog poo" girl is a good example of this.
turning lens to aid Selca, the Korean way of saying "self
portrait camera". All sorts of pictures are uploaded to
blogs, mini-homepages, websites, and portals for different
purposes.
Since these photos are open for everyone to see online, a
magic wand that gives a little touch to a photo is needed.
Here, the fairy is Photoshop. People who are taking the
most advantage from Photoshop are celebrities.
Before, a model had to cover a facial imperfection through
make-up only. Now, a little touch through Photoshop can
erase the freckles, brighten skin tone, and reduces wrinkles. Digital cameras have transformed a typical person to
someone who can make difference in community and
beautified uglies to pretties.
If Digital Single-lens Reflex Cameras (DSLR) were a hot
issue last year, Premium Convergence Digital Cameras
that are added with various features to the compact digital
cameras are the new rising stars this year. DSLR's picture
quality is better than that of compact cameras, but its
gigantic size and the costly price has made buyers hesitate
before parting with their money.
first company to produce the cameras with MP3 and PMP
functions.
The concept of convergence this year is not only adding
more features to the previous version, but it also completed
its added fuction. Some products are coming with the
touch screen LCD, while Kodak, Nikon, and Sony promoted digital cameras with wireless lan that connects to the PC
without any cables. The latest model from Sony even
allows the wireless transfer of data from one camera to
another as long as they are from the same brand.
A strengthened convergence function has increased the
LCD size and memory capacity. The new LCD screen
enlarged its size from 2 inch screen to 3 and 3.5 inch
screen. The internal memory was previously 10 MB, but it
is now up to 512 MB.
Those who change their cameras in 2008 with the newest
model I7 from Samsung Techwin will be able to travel overseas with no travel guides. This slim camera contains
4500 travel information of 30 countries in 512MB internal
memory.
Sony Cybershot G1 2008 users will be able to share joy
with the pictures. With the Wi-Fi, four sony cameras can
transfer data to each other. On top of 3.5 inch LCD screen
and 2 GB internal memory, MP3 player and photo album
searching feature are added to provide the joy of watching
and listening.
A couple of years ago, a woman was taking the subway
with her puppy and the puppy happened to relieve itself on
the subway seat. The woman left it as it was and got out of
the subway.
Moreover, buyers want to be able to occasionally use the
video feature on compact digital cameras that DSLR don't
have as function. Samsung Techwin, Canon, Nikon, and
Sony this year have improved the compact digital cameras'
picture quality to DSLR standard with unique design and
special features to compete in the market.
The anonymous citizen reporter took photos of it with a digital camera phones and put it online. Thousands of comments were made and soon enough, an anonymous citizen's report became the hottest news around.
Since the demand of digital cameras was the highest in the
year 2000 with its highest record in sales, companies are
targeting those who purchased cameras in 2000 to buy
new ones this year.
Nikon Coolpix P5000 will be good for those who travel or
hike often. Its users will be able to take high quality photos
with 10 megapixel 1/1.8-inch CCD without having to worry
about taking blurry photos due to mild vibration. Lens shift
VR and ISO 64-1600 reduces the vibration to take a stable
picture.
Within a few weeks, a new law was made to forbid pets on
the subway. Photography is no longer a simple hobby, it
gives people the power to change the law and change the
society.
These brand new digital cameras with upgraded features
are not as pricy as the last year. Samsung Techwin is currently the number one compact digital camera selling company. In second place is Canon Korea followed by Sony
Korea. Nikon, Fuji Film, and Olympus are highly competing each other to bit the record. Samsung Techwin was the
Best Shot Selector (BSS) function identifies and saves the
sharpest image automatically from ten sequential shots,
and Face-priority AF will satisfy those who loves to take
self portrait photos.
Dicas and DicaPhones are now the pets that people can
carry around everywhere. On the street, in restaurants,
and in coffee shops, at least one or two people are taking
their own self portraits using their digital cameras or digital
camera phones.
Digital cameras and their changing partners have a multitude of functions. Sometimes they act as social activists.
At other times they are reporters. They even can be considered as plastic surgeons.
When Sky and Samsung made a cellular phone with a
camera lens that could turn 360 degrees, its users were
able to take a look at themselves on the phone screen as
they took a self portrait. New phones come with the lenses
both on the front and back.
Modern digital cameras and digital camera phones' all-inone entertainment systems are the future. These rather
than dogs (especially those that go to the toilet on subways) are rapidly becoming man's best friend.
CGE
Even digital cameras like the Nikon S4 have a 360 degreeSource: Korean Press Association
In-depth Report
Design At Any Cost?
With the likes of Armani and Prada starting to design
mobile phones and BMW and Ferrari putting their names to
flashy new laptops, it seems technology and expensive design
now go hand in hand. But does better design mean we will end
up with an inferior product? Cho Eun-jung investigates.
ere are some words you don't hear much any more:
"Who cares what it looks like as long as it works properly?"
H
We don't hear them because design has become a buzzword in modern society. Especially in all things technical, it
used to be that practicality was the overriding concern, with
the design of a product of little consequence.
The Design Council, a design database in the United
Kingdom, found in a survey that 25% of manufacturing companies now rate design as a "crucial" factor in their business.
The same report also found that even in the financial sector,
91% of rapidly growing businesses in the UK said that
design was indispensable.
Chris Bewick is a British web-based designer. He fronts
Stompfrog, a company who have designed web pages for
www.yell.com, the British Yellow Pages' website.
Bewick believes it is easy to forget how important design is
in everyday life. He says, "Everything is designed, I think
people often forget that. The cup that you drink your coffee
from in the morning has at some point been designed by
someone, why is the handle that shape and why is it that
colour? It is definitely not a mistake."
Park Jung-yeon is also a designer. She works at Hankook
Reearch, the largest marketing research company in Korea.
Park believes that companies that invest in good design can
reap the financial rewards. She says, "iRiver are Korea's
biggest-selling mp3 player producers at the moment. But
they caught the attention of customers. They have done this
through sensible, well-thought out designs that have cap-
tured the imaginations of buyers - like the Mickey Mouse
mp3 and Prism mp3 players."
However, with the sheer amount of companies on the market, how a product is designed is becoming more and more
important. Take mobile phones, for example. Fifteen years
ago, an ugly brick-shaped lump of metal was an acceptable
design to house the components that made up a portable
telephone.
But in Today's market, most mobiles have very similar functions, and an increasing number of customers are paying
scant interest to the features of individual handsets.
A few years ago, a Russian company called Ancort made
the headlines around the World when they released a $1.3
million phone, designed by the luxury accessories maker
Peter Aloisson. This phone was encrusted with diamonds,
rose and the sides were inlaid with fine wood. It represents
the ultimate triumph of design over functionality in mobile
phones - a very expensive status symbol indeed.
Though the Ancort mobile was aimed at society's elite, other
mobile makers on the market are now starting to spend big
on design. LG have broken ground with their Prada and
Chocolate phones, while Nokia have set up NokiaDesign to
ensure they stay ahead of the game.
The Finnish mobile makers have brought all sorts of people psychologists, industrial designers, materials experts, and
anthropologists - into the NokiaDesign group. They claim,
"We use human-behavioral research to think about how the
future might turn out."
In an interview with Business Week magazine, Jan
Chipcase of the Nokia research team said that their research
has taken them to places as far-flung as African villages in
their quest for better design. He said, "We're thinking about
how we could redesign the mobile phone and the communication experience to be more suitable for sharing."
businesses in the pocket. He urges companies, "Employ a
designer! Decide on a budget for your website and find the
best designer you can for your money. Just because your
receptionist's son got an A in his last HTML homework, it
doesn't mean he can build you a website. Bad design costs
more than good design."
But design in IT is by no means limited to mobile phones.
Other electrical devices also need design - luxury carmakers
Ferrari and Lamborghini have been drafted in to help laptop
computer designers wow buyers with flashy casing. Mp3
players have taken their cue from Apple's immensely popular iPod, whose design has won worldwide acclaim.
Hwang Jin-a is a designer at Insmobile, Korean mobile
phone software developers. She thinks that Korea needs to
learn valuable lessons from overseas designers. She thinks
that while Korean designers are good at picking up on the
latest trends, it is they who need to be creating these trends,
instead of simply following them.
And elsewhere in the IT world, design, as an industry, has
also skyrocketed - top web designers can earn upwards of
$80,000 a year.
Says Hwang, "Foreign designers are often more creative
and original than people here. They are always trying to
think of something new. We need to learn from them about
thinking outside the box, and about how to be more receptive to ideas."
In short, the modern electronics industry relies as much on
designers as it does on techy types. Sitting on the shelf,
what a product looks like is probably what will make a buyer
pick it and not its competitor, and most electronics companies recognize this fact, which is why they are prepared to
splash the cash on design and design research.
The job of Web Designer is a very recently-created post, but
it has become a profession practiced by tens of thousands of
people around the World, and Bewick points out that it is not
just big flashy sites that need the help of a specialized
design pro.
He says, "Every website, no matter how bad it looks, has
been designed by someone who has probably spent a long
time making it look that way. As Internet users become more
web-savvy, their expectations change and they are no
longer satisfied with flat uninspiring websites. As this user
benchmark continues to increase it is more and more important to have an exciting and engaging online brand."
But is there a risk that companies will pump too much money
into design at the expense of practicalities? If more money is
going into design, it is being taken away from somewhere
else in a company. Could good design end up taking away
from the quality of the end product?
Many experts believe that striking a careful balance between
content and layout is the key for most Internet-based companies. Bewick says, "Without a usable interface and valuable
content an all singing and dancing presentation layer is a
waste of time and money. Getting a balance between these
three things is the key to a good website. Different websites
have different purposes so the balance is some times going
to change."
Bewick says that neglecting proper design can end up hitting
However, Hwang believes that the learning process should
be a two-way street. Korean designers have plenty to be
proud of, too, according to her. She says, "We are hardworking and faithful. I don't think anyone can top the Koreans
when it comes to our untiring spirit."
It seems that Korea and design are linked together as if by
fate.
Hwang argues that design is of urgent importance to countries like Korea. She says, "We must invest more in design.
In fact, without design, we are nothing. We don't have oil or
gas in this country; we don't have vast manpower resources
either. All we have is brains and labour. So we have to be
able to export our design ideas in order to survive."
It seems that though companies are pouring money into
design, often at the expense of product quality, they are only
doing so at the bequest of customers. A little black box that
can do everything is not good enough for today's consumers
- they want little black boxes that look good, too.
The Naver of Design?
find:Design is a website set up in collaboration with
Google. Using the same search algorithms as
Google, the site finds web pages with a design
theme and files them under categories. For example, if a user types in "aeroplane," the site will display sites that refer to concepts like environmentally-friendly aircraft design, trends in aircraft design
and design innovations.
In-depth Report
SK,
SK, KT
KT and
and LG
LG Telecom
Telecom
play
play StarCraft
StarCraft II
II
Humans (Terrans) struggle for control against
alien races Protoss and
Zerg. Each faction has its
distinctive advantages
and drawbacks.
SK, KT, and LG Telecom are playing StarCraft in the battle for customers
K Telecom and KT have a problem. Their bases are
under attack so they are zerging to triumph over
each other. In the computer game StarCraft II, the
Zerg have rapid build-times and are inexpensive units,
making them so well suited for rushing that the term zerg or
zerging has entered gaming vocabulary as a synonym for a
tactic of "rushing in."
S
StarCraft, for anyone who does not know what it is, is a
computer game hugely popular in Korea, where three "factions" fight it out in space for the control of a planet.
The two leading Korean
telecommunication company's zerging started
with the newly elected
President Lee Myung-bak
administration. If the two
companies' battlefields
were compared to roleplaying game called
Lineage
where the
government
interfered
with restrictions and
gave them
the quests,
it is now the
StarCraft, a
real-time
strategy
game between three different species.
If the previous strategies for Protoss KT and Terran SKT
were to steal each other's subscribers, their marketing
strategy now concentrates on how to not to lose their own
subscribers.
September 19, 2007, the Terrans, SK Telecom (SKT), took
the initiative to start a 50% discounted service for calls
between its customers. SKT this year is planning to expand
discounted services for calls between family members and
its customers.
From March 4, 2008, SKT will give discount up to 50%
maximum on basic fee and the phone rates for the phone
calls made within family members. Moreover, the new converged service will lead up to 10~25% save for the subscribers. A SKT spokesman said, "If government accepts
lets take over Hanaro Telecom, we are willing to make converged services that gives up to 10~25% discount when
used as package. Frankly, the real competition begins now
since it is not only KT who provides converged services."
Our converged service will be competitive both in its price
and quality."
Kim Shin-bae, CEO of SKT, noted that the discount in payment plans this time is something that satisfies its customers, telecom companies, and related businesses. He
said, "Through the reduction in excessive marketing and an
improvement in effective managing, we will continue to provide a low payment plan."
The converged discount service was sent as a quest from
the government before, so the telecom companies played
their role game, but it did not require zerging. Now that the
companies' payment plan no longer needs approval from
the government, the competitions between the companies
will give nest eggs to subscribers.
The Protoss, KT, are also working on their marketing strategy to provide a lower payment plan for its subscribers.
The converged communication service pack of five items
including phone lines, high-speed Internet service
Megapass, Internet TV MegaTV, Internet phone VoIP, and
video phone "Show" will give subscribers up to 20% off if
used as the package of all 5.
On top of the cooperation between the related parties, a
strategic cooperation amongst the telecom companies are
expected. The companies are required to analyze the pattern of each family's expenditure on communication
charges.
KT announced its newest converged service a day earlier
than SK this month, on February 3.
A KT spokesman said, "We are not expecting the subscribers to grow in short time period since we put landline
as one of the packaged deal in converged services, but in
the long run, the number of converged service subscribers
will increase. Those families who spend less than 92000
won on communication fees per month will be able to save
more than 20% by using our converged service."
But the real attacks are expected to spark its fuse by the
end of the year. By the end of the year, subscribers will be
able to choose from three telecom companies' Quadruple
Play Service (QPS) that converges four communication
services. This will eventually develop throughout the years
as Pentagon Play Service (PPS) to the Hexagon Play
Service (HPS) with five to six converged services. KT's
QPS will head toward SK's gateway next month with a
QPS of landline, Megapass, MegaTV, and Show.
SKT, at the current point, is focusing on increasing the
number of soldiers and attacking units by joining forces
with Hanaro Telecom. SK's QPS will cover SKT mobile
phone, the Hanaro Telecom landline, IPTV high speed
Internet as a package service.
LG Telecom Group, the Zergs, are rushing to prepare for
an upcoming attack. LG Telecom spokesman said, "We
are trying to merge LG Telecom, LG Dacom, and LG
Powercom to come up with QPS by the end of this year.
Although it has been a year since the legal standards were
set for converged services for a year, the converged services were reluctant to commercialize. The subscribers
found that they did not save as much by using converged
services.
But converged services are not everything the subscribers
are waiting for. Internet and television services are currently signed up to a contract to use for a certain period. The
condition of subscription and cancellation should be reexamined by telecom companies.
The outcome of this high competition will bring a revolution
to both market and consumers. The telecom companies
will try their best to satisfy their subscribers by displaying
numerous discount plans, but what they are to fundamentally focus on is to keep their customers in house.
Instead of using money and effort to steal a customer from
the other telecom company, the telecom companies should
build a protecting strategy. The number of subscribers who
changed their telecom service last year was 8,800,000. If
we can imagine that those subscribers had been be paid a
$100 subsidy, the marketing expense sprinkled over the
market is 880,000,000,000 won.
The newest version of StarCraft must be played with the
strategies to protect each species' attack unit. Not only
should the companies care for how much a subscriber use
their phone per month, but they also should consider how
long the subscriber's contract is. If the telecom companies
give privileges to those who have been using their product
for long term period, the moving rate of the subscribers will
stabilize.
The three telecom companies' zerging with time and
expense is moving toward each other's attack units. Their
fierce strategies, on the other hand, can only benefit customers' pockets in the long run.
CGE
Essay
Digital Society
The Technophile
Brave New World Not To
Everyone s Liking
Lim Eun-jin, goes to the same English class as Joo. When he
is not in the classroom, though, he runs a kalbi jib, a traditional Korean rib restaurant, in Seoul, and is a self-confessed
technology addict.
Korea might be one of the biggest technological
powers in the World, but though some ordinary
Koreans can t get enough of the new, others are
not too keen. We take a closer look.
Indeed, the sight of him at work is quite something to behold.
When he is not sitting behind a computer screen, furiously
typing instructions into his keyboard, Kim is prowling around
the tables or the kitchens, muttering instructions to his staff
via a wireless microphone which connects to earpieces all his
staff wear as part of their uniform.
Lim - “Technology makes life easier.”
When life calls for him to be away from the restaurant, Kim
still runs a tight ship - via remote desktop from his laptop
computer, which allows him access to the network at work.
generation gap separates them, but Joo Sun-hee, 40
and Lim Eun-jin, 26, are so different they might have
come from different planets.
A
Though the two met at a language school in Seoul, did the
same homework and laughed at the same jokes, their
lifestyles speak volumes about the nature of modern Korean
life.
her distrust for the technological revolution that has swept
over her country. The bali high-speed culture of Korea does
not need the electrical devices the young here craves for.
Children growing up with these machines become impatient,
and will turn out to be impatient as adults.
I don t have a mobile phone a DVD player or a digital camera, says Joo with a certain hint of pride in her voice.
Indeed, this is the great paradox of Korea in 2008; just how
do the country s many technophobes and technophiles live
in harmony together?
At home, her spartan apartment is even devoid of a television. A computer is her one concession to the modern hightech lifestyle, but she appears to use it very infrequently.
Joo is a jolly woman, short and with an eternally gleeful countenance. She has devoted her life to fine art, and spends her
time teaching people of all ages how to draw and paint.
I have difficulty getting the pesky thing to work, she complains, I am forever asking friends to come around to help
whenever I try to get something done on it.
Lim, meanwhile, is a business-minded young man. His time
is taken up with running the family business and post-graduate study. When he is not working or buried in a pile of books,
he finds it hard to pull himself away from the latest technological gadget he has laid his hands on.
Although it might be difficult to imagine life without modern
communication devices and the Internet, Joo seems unbothered by the whole idea. Most young people would panic at
the very thought of not being able to use the Internet or their
mobile phones for even a day, but Joo has managed this for
the best part of a lifetime.
The Technophobe
Joo says, I think I was born
with an innate distrust for
machines. I m not interested
in how they work or what
they do. Even the idea of
having a mobile phone is
offensive for me. They are
forever ringing and beeping
for reasons I cannot understand. I find electrical noises
shrill and unappealing.
Joo - “I’m not interested in
machines at all.”
It is difficult for Joo to contain
I wouldn t consider myself out of touch, she says, I spend
a lot of time with young people, but I ll admit I m lost if they
ever start talking technology or if they bring up celebrities that
are popular because of the Internet or television.
She is, however, taking a few brave steps into uncharted territory of technology. Recently, she bought an mp3 player to
listen to audio assignments her English teacher gives her in
her language school.
However, Joo admits that this is her second audio player.
What happened to the first? I threw the stupid thing away.
One wonders how much time the new device will be given.
In his personal life, too, there is no escape from technology.
Kim is a keen snowboarder, and has customized a set of
walkie-talkies so that he and his friends can communicate
hands-free while making their ways down the slopes at
breakneck speeds.
I like to integrate technology in pretty much every aspect of
life, he says.
The fascination with modern technology began for Lim at a
very early age, he explains, his eyes lighting up at the memory.
My love of all things electronical started when I was 9 years
old. I don t really have many memories before I was that
age.
The young Lim used to rent videos from a local video shop.
One day, he watched a movie that he liked so much, he
decided he wanted to keep it.
I wanted to copy the tape because I didn t have any money
to buy a copy of my own, so I borrowed my friend s video
player, he says.
The boy had no idea how to go about copying from tape to
tape, or how to link the two machines together, but after several days of toil, he succeeded in making a copy.
It was hard work, he says, But through trial and error, I got
there in the end. but the process itself, the exploration and
gradual understanding of the technology was the most exciting part for me. That was the origin for me, how I started getting interested in gadgets.
Explains Lim, I think I like using electronic goods too much
now, perhaps. Every time I get one of these, I can t seem to
spend enough time with it, figuring out how to use it properly,
to the fullness of its abilities. I am always on the look-out for
new electronic goods, because those things help me and
people I care about, help make our lives easier to live. That is
why people always say I am a high-tech person.
But modern technology is no bed of roses for him. His obsession is, by his own admission, verging on the unhealthy.
He says, Buying a new piece of technology is a thrill for me,
but also a curse. I can t rest until I have understood and
mastered its every function. Once I bought a PDA [Personal
Digital Assistant], and I ended up not sleeping for three days
because of it. I just sat up with the thing all night, battling with
the thing, trying to understand exactly how it worked.
TA
Famous Technophobes
The Luddites were a group of textiles makers in 19th Century
Britain. They opposed the effects of the Industrial Revolution,
which was starting to introduce machinery into the clothesmaking business. Their protests extended to damaging and
destroying the textiles machines they thought were threatening their livelihoods. The term Luddite is still used today as
a derogatory term for people who are technologically ignorant.
The Amish are a group of ultra-religious Christians, who live
mainly in America and Canada. They reject modern society
as a whole, do not drive cars or use machines, as a rule,
using horse and carts and living a mainly agrarian lifestyle.
The Amish are especially skeptical about electrical goods,
which they fear may cause their close-knit society to break up.
Expert , but former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair was a selfconfessed technology-hater, and even went on computer
courses when in office, during his ten year stint as British PM.
Anarcho-Primitivism is a political movement that advocates
a return to tribalistic way of life, with no computers and no
technology. The group express distrust for science, which
they believe is an unnatural way of understanding the World.
There are Anarcho-Primitivist groups in India, Europe, the US
and Israel.
How to Survive a Robot Uprising is a book by Daniel
Wilson, a Robotics PhD student from Carnagie Mellon
University in the USA. Although the book is mostly comedic,
the writer says it contains serious advice on how humans can
protect themselves from machines should they one day
decide to take over the World.
North Korea s Kim Jong-il may be a self-proclaimed Internet
Spotlight
KEPCO
Korean Energy Company Powers
Up the Philippines
Cebu feels the energy rush of a new power station to be
jointly built by Korea and the Philippines
ebruary 14th is Valentine’s Day for most, but in Cebu,
in the Philippines, they were celebrating something
altogether different. Work began on a power plant in
Cebu with Philippine government officials, Lee Won-geol,
the CEO of Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), Lee
Kang-won, the chief of the local subsidiary, and Governor
Garcia, of Cebu, all forsaking time with their loved ones for a
celebration of a different sort.
The Cebu power plant uses a commercial management
method, which is first to be developed by KEPCO as an
overseas project.
The proprietors of this project have direct ownership and
management rights, and can sell electric power to local
energy boards after the building of the power station, meaning that KEPCO will manage the power plant for 25 years,
from 2011 onwards.
Bituminous coal, the fuel to be used in the power station, will
be supplied by Indonesia under a long-term supply contract
with KEPCO. However, after the contract has been finalized,
KEPO plans to supply fuel from neighboring nations, connecting the station with resource-development projects that
can provide it with coal, uranium and so on.
Domestic companies have also participated in the project the construction of the Cebu power plant will be carried out
by Philippine companies and the operating system will also
be provided domestically. It is expected that this project will
generate around $100 million in revenue.
F
Since KEPHILCO (KEPCO Philippines Corporation) was
established in 1995, KEPCO got special mention from the
Philippine local officials, although restoration projects for the
Malaya power plant come under some intense competition.
The rivalry between countries who want to export energy is
fierce. However, KEPCO's skills and expertise have seen
them through.
Therefore, the llijan power plant project is a landmark one KEPCO won the contract against some sharp competition
from other countries back in 1996.
KEPCO is the Philippines’ second biggest IPP (Independent
Power Producer). They produce 12% of the Philippines'
foreign investment project after the EPIRA (Electric Power
Industry Reform Act).
KEPCO is currently employing approximately 580 managers
as well as additional employing up to 980 people a day while
the Cebu power plant was being built.
Moreover, KEPCO is increasing Philippine know-how
through updated machinery and teaching high-tech clean
energy management skills. It also earns a lot of respect in
the area of recyclable energy, including atomic power.
KEPCO's social contribution in the Philippines has been very
much active since the beginning of the Philippine electric
power project, helping with the support of medical treatment,
IT education, and helping local areas out with projects to
boost their income.
Valentine’s Day meant a day away from husbands and
wives, girlfriends and partners for those involved, but for
those in the power business in Cebu, Valentine’s Day 2008
was all about the power of Korean-Philippine love.
KEJ
KEPCO, ranked as most incorruptible public institution
The Korean Independent Commission against
Corruption has recently announced that KEPCO
was ranked the 'least corruptible public company in
Korea.'
Lee Won-geol, CEO of KEPCO, (2nd from the left), receiving a plaque from
Philippine President Arroyo for KEPCO's efforts in the Philippines.
entire electric power resources. They do this through 'Project
Financing', which can raise financial resources by using the
proprietors' capability to secure credit for building projects.
The new Cebu project started with an agreement between
Korea and the Philippines in June, 2004 based successful
talks with Philippine President Arroyo in 2003.
KEPCO is trying to become the number one private proprietor in the generation of electric power in the Philippines,
with 15% of the entire Philippine energy budget going to
them.
For this reason, KEPCO is investing in a Naga power plant,
and is operating new projects in the Cebu power plant.
KEPCO is also running construction power plant projects in
the Malaya and Ilijan.
KEPCO uses developed management techniques to maximize profits and it is trying to develop relations between two
countries and economic conditions with construction of the
Philippine electric power infrastructure.
Change of Integrity Scores (Graph should be insulted, but no editing needed)
It came first in the commission's league table, scoring 9.56 points, and coming top of a 19 companylist. The Commission based their findings on an
investigation which tested the integrity of public officials.
The main reason for KEPCO's extraordinary
increase in integrity scoring is that bribes have been
almost eliminated: 4 cases were reported in 2006
and none in 2007.
"Latent incorruption", which means providing rapid,
kind operation and service to customers, was 0.38
points higher than in 2006.
In the year of 2006, it was ranked on the top 5th
among 72 related public offices with an increase of
0.48 points, exceeding the average for most public
companies.
KEPCO believes that these results were caused by
Lee Won-geol's strong anti-corruption drive and
innovative system reforms against bad entrenched
habits.
KEPCO showed the worst level of integrity in investigations earlier in the 2000's. They scored only 4.47
in 2002 and 5.80 in 2003. However, the score
sharply increased to 8.72 in 2004, a continuous
effort to weed out corruption yielded a score of 8.78
in 2005 and 9.08 in 2006.
An official at KEPCO said that they planned to
reform and improve the systems continuously for
improvement of transparent systems, and to
progress constant activities against corruption. They
intend to do this through incentives, such as voluntary awareness reform, in order to keep up their
number one ranking in 2008.
Then they finally achieved 9.56 with constant activities against corruption with the appointment of Lee
Won-geol as CEO in March, 2007.
Courtesy of Integrity Innovation Team, KEPCO
Audit Dept., and KEPCO PR Dept.
KEPCO’s integrity score (out of 10)
The Cebu power plant construction is a project which was
developed by an agreement between Korea and the
Philippines, and it is remarkable not only as a breakthrough
in Korean-Philippines relations, but it is the first Greenfield
Tourism
Blooming Paradise for
Sightseeing in Mud Flat,
Incheon
effect - with over 3,770 billion won expected to be generated through the EXPO.
The city plans to build up an EXPO main showroom with
500 thousand m2 of land in Songdo international city, and to
promote the progress and potential power of Incheon, officials will be connecting it with Visit Incheon 2009.
There will be approximately 120 festivals held, and around
2000 events held all over Incheon.
An Incheon city official said, "Incheon can take the leap
and become an international city through the EXPO, and
the city can be a place full of international culture and
tourism through Visit Incheon and other initiatives."
Cruise Ships
Maximization of inducing visitors with specialized
sightseeing products
ou can see the indigo blue-colored West Sea, rippling majestically when visiting the city of Incheon.
Y
Incheon also plans to specialize itself with representative
festivals such as the Incheon Ocean Festival, the IncheonChinese Cultural Festival, the Incheon Worldwide fireworks
Laser Festival and more, to help people in the city enjoy a
variety of cultural activities.
The city will try its best to activate the traditional culture and
to preserve cultural heritage.
In addition, Incheon will develop the individual tourist
attractions with convenience facilities in Palmi-do, the new
Mooui arts center, developed in the Wolmi Tour specialized
district, a remodeled Seopo-ri sightseeing spot and more.
As Visit Incheon 2009 approaches, the city is going all out
in its efforts.
Southern Ilwon, the 'Moonsan district'
Acceleration to attract Foreign Visitors for the Incheon
City EXPO
The project to lay the foundations for a growing force in the
21st century in the Songdo international city started up as a
way of filling up the mud flat.
The large Incheon bridge, the one that heads towards
Youngjong airport as a future international gateway, stands
with a dignified appearance.
The dream that connects the sky, the sea and the places,
Youngjong-Songdo-Cheongra through this prospective
path, is starting to come true as efforts continue to build up
the economic-centric Northeast.
Incheon, has high hopes and plans to develop the growing
culture and arts industry to provide people with enjoyable
opportunities for culture and art through a higher-quality of
life with improvement of GNP (Gross National Product),
and also plans to aid future cultural and artistic activities.
Incheon implements a policy to actively construct and
widen cultural infrastructure in the expansion of culture. It is
also plans to assign 2,000,000m2 of the Dowha, Soongui,
Jooahn-dong areas in the southern part of Incheon as
'Incheon, the Development District of Cultural Industry'
through efforts of the Ministry of Culture & Tourism.
Incheon has started builing up impetus for the preparation
of the 2009 Incheon World City EXPO one year in advance.
It will be the first EXPO of its kind in the world.
The Incheon world city EXPO, supported by the government, will be held with the title of 'A City with Dreams', with
100 prominent enterprises and 200 international cities in
the entire Incheon area taking part, from August 7th to
October 25th next year.
Incheon estimates it will host 10 million visitors, including 1
million foreign visitors, and it also expects a big economic
Incheon also has other plans for the future. These include
such ideas as introducing a regular liner in 2009, and
inducing a home port in 2011, in order to boost the cruise
industry.
Incheon already started out in its quest to make inroads
into the cruise industry last year with a marketing contract
and TFT (ThinFilm Transistor) which was struck between
the Incheon Port Authority and the Incheon Tourism
Organization for the European destinations like the
Netherlands, Spain and Germany.
In fact, the Cruise Industry Buildup Forum drew positive
feedback from related organizations and companies in last
December.
The activities of "cruise inducement" are planned for
Japan, South-East Asia in the first half of the year. And an
international cruise conference will be held in order to build
popular support.
In addition, the improvement of Incheon's port would be in
an active progress with unique welcoming events for
incoming cruise ship and visitors to the port.
In the long-term, plans are to build ports, and have the
"mother port" as Incheon. Plans are afoot to have such
cruises up and running in 2011, and have cruise tourism
infrastructure up and running by then.
Cruise tourism continues to increase by an average of 10%
annually since 2001, with around 10 million tourists as
things stand. It accounts for over 4% of the average annual
amount of international tourists.
A local government spokesperson said, "Incheon has the
Incheon international airport, and the new port which is the
most up-to-date in the country. As for strength, the potential of the cruise industry for us is much bigger than any
other city near Seoul."
Sightseeing and Islands
The development business, is currently heating up as
Incheon unveils plans to develop some of the largely uninhabited islands in the West Sea, off the coast. Plans
involve constructing a tidal power plant, a golf course and a
sightseeing complex,
The tidal power plant construction business, which plans to
be completed in 2016, will be connected with 6500m of sea
walls and four islands: Kanghwa Island, Seokmo Island,
Kyodong Island, SeoKum Island.
32 water turbine electric generators that work up to
25.2MW are installed, and electric power at 1536GWh,
which is at 8.5% of Incheon annual electric power usage, is
provided.
Incheon can expect to save approximately \90 trillion
through the construction of such tidal plants.
The plan to developing the authorized place for a disposal
plant for nuclear waste in 1995 was cancelled, with the revelation of a possible fault so the place since has been in the
process of developing itself as a tourism complex.
The synthesized ocean sightseeing complex, with a golf
course and a 150-room hotel, will sponsored by the CJ
Group.
Planning permission has also been granted to a golf course
and a condominium complex, with 100 rooms, in Seokmo
Island, Kanghwa.
Yongyou and the Moo area will also be developed with
hotels, resorts, casinos, theme parks, a sports leisure complex, marina ports, malls and residential facilities all
planned.
Incheon also has plans to expand support for the sightseeing industry by obtaining sufficient a budget developing an
area for nightlife in Wolmi, a special sightseeing zone, with
convenience facilities near beaches in Ongjin Koon,
Bakryeong Myeon, Deokjeok Myeon and Jawon Myeon,
The city also plans an operation to release promotional
material about culture and sightseeing, in order help generate the building up of the sightseeing infrastructure of the
province.
KEJ
Tourism
Sri Lanka
An Investment
Destination Like No
Other
Sri Lanka offers more than meets the eye for
investors, says Yeo Hong-il
y means of an invitation from the Embassy of Sri
Lanka in Seoul, the Korea IT Times was able to see
the investment condition and the IT investment circumstance in Sri Lanka onsite for over 10 days from
February 7th to 19th.
B
Why Choose Sri Lanka?
In an investment promotion gathering for Korean investment and trade delegation, held
in the Ivy Room of the Hotel Cinnamon Grand in Colombo,
Sarath Amunugama, Minister of Enterprise Development
and Investment Promotion said, "Pioneering South Asia's
economic liberalization, Sri Lanka, for over two decades,
has followed free market policies and has evolved a business-friendly policy environment favorable to investment
and economic growth."
Koreans on hand were able to confirm that over the years,
successive governments of in Sri Lanka including the
strong leadership of current Sri Lanka government have
continued to liberalise many areas of the economy to pave
the way for international investment. As a result, Sri Lanka
remains one of the most attractive investment destinations
in the Asia-Pacific region.
Lanka's
capital, is
situated at
the crossroads of major
shipping routes
to South Asia and
the Far
East. In recent years,
the port has become a
major trans-shipment hub. Sri
Lanka hopes
to leverage on its locational advantage by implementing a
policy framework to position
the country as a service hub to the subcontinent,
Amunugama explains.
Sri Lanka is the logical location for manufacturing and service organizations that wish to establish a presence in what
is fast becoming an economic powerhouse in the region.
The island is ideally located as the gateway to the vast
Indian subcontinent- home to a quarter of the world's population.
ed that fragmentary assistance-oriented investment
of the past is now over.
Choi also stressed the importance of
resource diplomacy with Sri Lanka. In that
context, he asked for interest and support
from the government because it is a burden for some corporations to carry out
such long-term economic cooperation
relations with foreign countries like Sri
Lanka.
In the case of the IT industry, the major
fields which are being promoted by the
BOI(Board of Investment of Sri Lanka) are
software development, e-Commerce, IT
training, and IT-based construction.
Sigiriya,
the "lion rock",
stands
majestically,
overlooking luscious
green jungle
surroundings.
Billateral relations to be taken to a
higher level 8% of the entire population of Sri Lanka work abroad
right now, according to the
Ministry of Foreign Employment
Promotion and Welfare, Sri
Lanka. Accordingly, 1.5 million
Sri Lankans contribute to the
largest employment income, earning US$ 2.7 billion annually.
In the case with Korea as well, Sri Lanka dispatches
approximately. 2,000 industry trainees to Korea yearly,
allowing to account for 2% of oversea employment income.
In order to dispatch more Sri Lankan young industry
trainees to Korea, customer-oriented Sri Lankan young
industry trainees need to be nurtured before everything
else, according to some experts.
A skilled workforce, generous tax incentives plus a comparatively high quality of life as well as liberal business environment make Sri Lanka a desirable investment destination in which to invest
Kim Duck-joo teaches Sri Lanka industry trainees at the
National Institute of Technical Education in Sri Lanka. So to
nurture good quality's Sri Lanka industry trainees
to tailor customer taste in Korea is a pressing need.
Moreover, there are no restrictions on repatriation of earnings, fees and capital, and on foreign exchange transactions relating to current account payments like all other
countries in the world implement to attract foreign direct
investment.
Choi Jae-jong, the managing director of Ceylon Heavy
Industries and Construction, has been doing business over
ten years here, said, "One of the several advantages of Sri
Lanka is its accessibility to Southwest Asia. In that sense,
Korean corporations deserve to consider making inroads
into the Middle East or India via Sri Lanka."
Despite the fact that for over 90% of Sri Lanka industry
trainees, Korea offers them a land of opportunity, Kim said
that the Institute does its best to pour customer satisfaction
mind into them through its curriculum so that Korean
employers can be satisfied with Sri Lankan industry
trainees.
Asitha Perera, the Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Korea who
was on hand, added that Sri Lanka also has much to offer
because of its many natural attributes and competitive
advantages. Location is key in all of this. Colombo, Sri
Refering to the fact that Sri Lanka holds development possibility because this country is
a less-developed country, Choi said that Korea has to persue long-term economic relations with Sri Lanka. He insist-
However, he says, "It is a pity that Sri Lanka has no special
infrastructure for Sri Lanka industry trainees to utilize their
experience in Korea after coming back to their country."
The policy environment is indeed compelling, according to
Minister Amunugama. Total foreign ownership is permitted
across all areas of the economy.
Sri Lanka already receives a lot of financial assistance from
Korea, but experts say that from now on, such fragmentary
assistance-oriented investment needs to be upgraded to
more long-term economic cooperation.
Experts agreed that Sri Lankan basic culture foundation is
oriented towards a more European or Western style,
because this country has been ruled by colonial powers.
Portugal, the Netherlands and the British took in turn to run
the country over a period of 450 years.
Because of this, Sri Lankan people's expectation degree
about welfare level is similar to Europe. In short, Sri
Lanka's edge is that its culture is being globalized right
now, and it is now developing an infrastructure that it will be
able to use effectively in the future.
In a further link to Korea, Sri Lankan was one of the countries that supported South Korea during the Korean War. In
that regard, it was a scar for bilateral relation that the
Kapeul Spinning Company revealed moral problems in the
past.
By examining the mistakes of the past and learning from
experience, bilateral economic cooperation between Korea
and Sri Lanka needs to be developed and upgraded to a
long-term standpoint.
In this way, Korea needs to take its lead from the likes of
Japan, who have been approached South America with a
middle and long-term point of view, with a view to building
not just immediately .
A more intense competition also between Korean corporations here in Sri Lanka needs to be created in order for the
two countries to reap the mutual benefits.
In addition, the country boasts rich natural splendour for
investors. How many destinations in the world will allow a
visitor to snorkel off golden sand beaches in the morning
and go off in search of rare leopards in the mountains?
Faiszer Musthapha, Deputy Minister of Tourism says flatly,
"Probably, not many. Sri Lanka is one of those few places
in the world, with a breathtaking array of landscapes
and wildlife, packed into a relatively compact area."
Colombo and the Galle area, where the Korean journalists
stayed during their visit, was littered with beautiful beaches
with impressive resort hotels.
In many ways, Sri Lanka seems to have the whole package
when it comes to investment, but if opportunities are to be
taken, the time to act would seem to be now.
News in Brief
Real-Time News
Asiana to use RFID in Baggage Handling
Pakistan imposes YouTube ban
after "blasphemous" video
appears on UCC site
EU Set to Impose Privacy Laws on
RFID Chips
A giant IT row has erupted in Pakistan after the country
imposed a sweeping ban on UCC video site, YouTube.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority confirmed that
it has ordered every Internet Service Provider in the country to block users from using the website for the foreseeable future, after a controversial film deemed offensive to
Muslims appeared on the site.
A Pakistani telecoms official said this was a reaction to the
posting of a recent movie trailer of a new film made by
Dutch politician Geert Wilders, which allegedly portrays
Islam in a negative way.
Wilders has criticized Islam in the past and is a
spokesman for anti-immigration policy. He has previously
asked for the Netherlands to impose a ban on the Koran,
the Muslim holy book, saying he thinks it contravenes the
spirit of Dutch law.
RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags attached to
retail products will have to be deactivated at the point of
sale to protect consumers' privacy under draft guidelines
drawn up by the European Commission (EC).
If the European Commission (EC) gets its way, it looks like
the European Union is set for a blanket deactivation of
RFID tags used in retail products.
The EC says it is moving to protect consumer privacy and
has drafted guidelines to ensure people's actions are not
being monitored for more sinister reasons.
They say that a public consultation period will be active
until 25 April 2008, before the EC puts its recommendations before the 27 member states of the Union in
Summer 2008.
EU officials have recommended that retailers automatically deactivate RFID tags at the point of sale, unless the
consumer explicitly chooses to leave the tags active.
Bangladesh to Introduce
e-Governement in 2008
HP Beats Rivals in Customer
Satisfaction Report
Bangladeshi newspaper The Financial Express says the
country is taking steps to introduce e-government this
year, with plans to have the system up and running as
early as June.
According to reports, the country has enlisted the help of
Price Waterhouse Coopers, the consultancy firm, to help
with the procees. PWC will help draft e-governance strategy, and update the way the country is run.
Hewlett Packard (HP) have topped the league tables for
customer support in technical products, according to survey put together by the Customer Respect Group, a
research group based in the US.
HP pipped Intuit, Xerox and Microsoft to the post, with a
7.7 score out of ten on a customer satisfaction scale. The
average score was only around 6, though, indicating that
companies still have a long way to go when it comes to
keeping the customer satisfied.
Terry Golesworthy, President of the Customer Respect
Group said, "Online support is now a critical factor for any
technical product. Site usability and the willingness to
engage with the customer to resolve issues have become
major purchasing considerations. As technology costs go
down, the ability of support sites to help all customers will
be a major driver on product profitability."
A government official told The Financial Express, "The
government offices still run on the traditional mode. The
strategy aims to stimulate the use of more technology in
offices. Government officials are still used to a manual filing system - there is no modern database."
Kazakhstan officials in Seoul also revealed last month that
plans were underway to introduce some elements of egovernment into at least some local government work,
with the assistance of Korean IT firms.
Asiana Air Information Decision Technology
announced that RFID (Radio Frequency
Identification) technology was to be applied to the
baggage procedure on domestic departure and
arrival lines and the Gimpo-Naneda line.
Asiana Air had a ceremony at Gimpo domestic
airport on February 27th for the opening service
of RFID technology application to the baggage
procedure on all domestic Asiana Airlines flights
at eleven airports and the international line
between Gimpo and Haneda.
Not only can the fixed time rate of quick and
exact flight service be improved at the domestic
airport, but passengers' baggage route can be
The opening ceremony for Asiana’s new RFID technologies at Gimpo airport
tracked down through Asiana's RFID technology
in February
application; therefore, baggage check-up and
claim at a destination airport can be expected to be more rapid.
Asiana IDT's flight baggage RFID system is consisted to confirm passengers' personal
and baggage information with the Reader, which is installed on every main moving path of
baggage with a RFID tag, to hold Asiana Air's freight, freight system and Korea Airports
Corporation's baggage information system in common, and also to be utilized to the baggage information with text message services and LCD monitors.
Asiana IDT's accumulated technologies, trial and experience of service business in the
RFID/USN (Ubiquitous Sensor Network) and this baggage service with RFID are expected
to be widely applied to all flight fields such air cargo, cabin meals and supplies, management of duty-free goods in the cabin and other fields such as distribution, manufacture and
freight.
TA
Asiana's Flow of Flight Baggage RFID System
Real-Time News
Korean language hits
the Louvre
Young Artists Given Room to
Exhibit in Seoul Hotel
Paris' most famous museum is braced for a
Korean invasion after a joint project with
Korean Air saw a guide service launched in the
French capital's landmark museum.
From February 1st through to March 31st,
acclaimed artist Park Yong-in will showcase his artwork
in the lobby of the Millennium Seoul Hilton.
Cho, Yang-ho, Chairman of Korean air, right,
shakes hands with Henri Loyrette, chief Director of
the Louvre
orean people can now appreciate commentary
about masterpieces in Korean at the Museum of the
Louvre - a world-famous treasure house full of the
richest cultural heritage.
K
On February 12th, Korean Air and the Louvre launched the
a guided tour service in Korean for the first time,
Hangeul is supported on the Personal Digital Assistant
(PDA) system for the explanation of pieces of art at the
Louvre in Paris.
Korean Air has supported the modernized project of equipments for the explanation of priceless masterpieces and
has succeeded in provision of the Korean service after a
conditional negotiation.
Cho, Yang-ho, the chairman at the Hanjin group, which
included Korean Air, Henri Loyrette, the Chief Director of
the Louvre, Cho Il-hwan, the Korean ambassador to
France, and other important figures in the governmental
and cultural world attended to this meaningful launch ceremony.
Cho said, "This guidance system service sponsored by
Korean Air, is a small gift not only to Korean and French
speakers, who love culture and art, but also art devotees
across the world. We tried to make it possible in return to
Korean nations because we can have been developed as a
worldwide airline with Koreans' cheers and utilization." He
also added, "From now on, Korean people can add a new
level of enjoyment to their world-famous art. They can go to
the Louvre and come away with a much deeper level of
understanding from their experiences."
GNC Media, which was a Korean exclusive partner of
Reunion des Musees Nationaux (RMN), was in charge of
rechecking manuscripts about works of art.
Ten different Korean voice actors took part in the recording
process. Korean interpretation service is now provided for
more than 600 important pieces, including the Mona Lisa,
Liberty Leading the People, the Venus de Milo, and so on,
with and an additional 1,000 commentaries by theme.
The total amount of these voice services means it is the
number one Korean language service among worldwide
museums.
The screen of works explanations, captions and logos are
indicated on a personal portable terminal while the voice
explanation about the art is playing, while Korean Air
advertising is also included in the audio program.
Therefore, the company will also be able to spread their
image of "Excellence in Flight" to the visiting Korean public.
Korean will be the 7th language for explanation service is
available in, after French, English, German, Spanish,
Italian and Japanese.
The number of audiences from all over the world has
reached 8,300,000 people, and the total amount of Korean
visitors is estimated at around 1%, which amounts to 80,
000 people.
Even though Chinese, Russians and others has visited the
Louvre at a higher rate, Korean was chosen as the 7th language for the service.
Because of this, it could be an opportunity to raise national
pride for both native Koreans and Korean immigrants in
France.
To celebrate this service, Korean air insulated their PR aircraft, B747-400, with the Korean script-stitched Mona Lisa
with typography. The plane will carry passengers on the
line between Incheon and Paris from February 12th this
year.
Moreover, Korean Air plans to convey their appreciation to
their customers through a variety of "Thank-you events,"
according to their homepage and travel information sites.
Korean Air says they are willing to be the messenger
between culture, art and people and will actively develop
support in global culture as well.
Korean Air will continuously sponsor this service for six
years for the improvement of the service, helping in the
explanation of art in Korean at the Louvre.
graduate
of
Hongik University,
Park also studied in
Paris, France at the
Academie De La Grande
Chaumiere. Park has been recognized for
his talent and has won several awards. He is known for
being able to turn abstract ideas into art through his
extraordinary use of color.
A
His dazzling and highly saturated color scheme have been
presented in most of his artworks with his unique painting
technique by using color that was pre-mixed on the palette,
instead of mixing and layering it on canvas. Also, unlike
other artists, he is not afraid to use dark and toned-down
color as a primary color and adds bright complementary
color onto it for a sense of contrast.
His works have been exhibited around the world and he is
known for the rich variety of approaches to representational
art, using simple composition by simplifying and flattening
objects or using refined and polished color.
in the lower lobby
including "The Fall in
Amsterdam" and "The
landscape of Zurich". There
is no entry fee; guests may peruse
his artwork for free at any time of the day.
Also, along with Park, promising young artist, sculptor Park
Gun-won will showcase his artwork in the lobby at the
same time. A graduate of Hongik University, who has also
studied in Italy and Germany, he has exhibited around the
world with hope and humanity showing through his artwork.
He is known for using a variety of medium-like light fixtures,
ceramic or bronze in the search for hope and a human
touch to express the agony of people as members of an
oppressive society.
In the past, the Millennium Seoul Hilton has hosted works
of other artists including Korean celebrity Cho Young-nam
and a collection of exclusive limited edition replicas of the
works of Vincent Van Gogh.
Approximately sixty pieces of Park's work will be on display
KEJ
How to ...
276 million registered users worldwide.
Shop Online Safely
Buying online at bargain prices is great fun, but there are many
ways to fall afoul of online scams. We investigate how to take
care while on the net.
Tip # 1
A fancy, flashy website might be a trompe l oeil. Some phishing scams are exceptionally intricate,
full of snares to draw you into handing over your card details. Be sure you can 100% trust a site first.
Tip #2
Buying from abroad is always a risk. If you are not familiar with the laws of that country, you might
have trouble persuading Korean or other countries courts to help you with getting your money back
from foreign tricksters.
But while shopping online is undoubtedly faster, cheaper
and less time-consuming than traipsing through crowded
shopping centres or trying to make your way through busy
high streets looking for bargains than are easily found with
the click of a mouse - online shopping is not bug-free by
any means.
A fool and his money are easily parted, and a variety of
Internet scams, traps and cons lie in wait for any fools not
careful with how they spend their money on the net.
In fact a whole web of nasty things might happen to your
money or your purchases as a result of online pests who
are after a quick buck from getting one over on unsuspecting users. According to experts these range from being
sent products later than
expected to having your card
details sold for a few dollars
by web pirates.
Though more prudish elements of society might grumble that there are no such
dangers with going into a
shop and paying in cash for
what you need, living in the
21st Century requires that at
you will have to use your
card online at some point.
Tip #3
Read the company s Privacy Policy before you hand over money. This tells you what information
the company is gathering on you and how they will use it. If they don t have a Privacy Policy, this
might be a bad sign.
The simple solution to everything is to use a credit card
when buying online. Credit
cards, unlike debit cards, are insured against fraud, and
you should be able to claim back any money you have lost
due to people stealing your card information.
However, it may be time-consuming and frustrating trying
to recoup your losses, and a better overall solution is to try
to be savvy about your online shopping habits in the first
place.
ake a walk around any office computer pool in Korea.
When the boss is out of sight, most men spend their
time reading sports news and looking at pictures of
scantily clad women on the Internet. But the female
employees are busy with another thing ? Internet shopping.
T
Buying online is one of the fastest-growing crazes in the
whole World. Korean companies alone rake in over 15 trillion Won (US$16.33 billion) a year from online sales, and
that amount is growing fast. Department store Shinsegae
estimate that if sales continue to rise as expected, Korean
people will be spending more money on the web than they
do in shops by next year.
eBay is an online auction site not often used by Koreans,
but elsewhere in the World, it is a massive hit. Although it is
a company that is barely twelve years old, it makes almost
$8 billion a year and employs almost 12,000 people. eBay
is one of the Internet s biggest success stories, and people
all over the World use it to buy and sell online, with around
Shopsafe, a British consumer guide for online shoppers,
advise that basic precautions need to be taken fist when
shopping online. As well as checking that you have adequate security filtering software on the computer you are
using, Shopsafe say, Make sure that you log out safely
when you have finished a transaction online and don t
leave the computer unsupervised while shopping online to
avoid extra risk.
long as you take basic care, you shouldn t have to worry.
Do not rush into anything, there are hundreds of online
shops out there.
But some may argue that this is precisely the problem. The
sheer amount of online shopping malls out there means
that it is hard to tell which ones can be trusted and which
ones we should be wary of.
One way to tell if a company is trustworthy or not is to
check if the site is secure or not. Secure sites usually have
a small yellow padlock icon at the bottom corner of the window they are in. You should be able to click on the padlock
to view the site s safety certificate. Check this to see that
the certificate is up to date and applies to the web site you
are using.
However, a safe site is no
guarantee that your money
is in safe hands. Phishing is
the latest way for Internet
cyber criminals to get their
hands on your hard-earned
dosh. Not unlike conventional fishing enthusiasts, phishers lure unsuspecting punters into handing over their
bank details by using a variety of tasty bait.
The kind of things you might
come across are dubious
online shopping websites,
but emailed phishing scams
are common, with shady users
sending out emails claiming that there as been some kind
of mix-up with your payment or online banking details.
Phishing scams like this are now rife all over the Internet,
but they are just after one thing - your money. To the
untrained eye, it is hard for users to tell the difference
between a well designed online scam site and a legitimate
business just trying to sell their wares on the Internet.
Again, the accepted wisdom is to only trust big sites, but
there is a problem with this philosophy. If we all buy via one
or two sites, the smaller sites will never develop on their
own, and the monopoly of the few will be able to put their
prices up.
Also, several phishing scams have exploited public overreliance on the established names, with fake eBay and
PayPay scams aplenty on the net.
Graham Miller, one of the founders of Shopsafe, says, So
Instead, it is essential that we use a mixture of common
sense, good judgment and safety precautions when we go
online.
Daum DS, a Korean shopping site, think good judgment all
round is needed to avoid potential problems. The company
said, Online shopping companies need to pay closer
attention to the importance of keeping customers private
information a secret, but online shoppers also have a
responsibility to themselves. We all need to stay vigilant.
The online world of shopping is a liberating one, but we still
need to take care. Feel free to explore new shopping possibilities, but make sure you are not making yourself a target
for people who are looking to make a lot of money ? at your
expense.
TA
Online shopping mall Daum DS’s top tips
Change your password regularly to throw would-be hackers off the scent.
Install good Firewall and anti-virus software. Be sure to update these regularly -there is a lot of malicious
software that looks for computer users who have not updated their safety nets.
Don t visit any sites you think look or sound suspicious, and don t install any software you are prompted to
do unless you are absolutely sure you know what you are saying yes to.
At a Glance - The Growing World of Online
Shopping
World: CNN reported last year that total worldwide Internet-related sales are forecast to hit around $174.5 billion by the end of the year.
Sex: Women aged 18-35 are Korea s biggest consumers, though younger teens are the fastest-growing
group of online consumers in the country.
Number: The Korean government estimates that the amount of online shopping sites in the country grows by
20% every year.
North Korea: DPR Korea, one of the World s most technophobic places, has just opened several online
shopping signs, offering users arts, crafts and graphics made in the secretive state. The South Korean government bans such websites, saying that they may be used to spread dangerous propaganda.
Elsewhere: Everything from twin babies to human kidneys have appeared on eBay s auction site. This while
online retailers sites offer a bizarre variety of goods - reptiledepot.com can sell you a variety of snakes, while
amazon.com stock not only books and CDs, but also cheese-stuffed cow hooves.
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Vision 2008

Transcription

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