The Seoul Subway “DigitalView”.

It is all about some cabinets that have been installed at the the line 1, 2, 3, and 4 Seoul subway stations (what about the other lines?). These cabinets have an interactive map of the surroundings of the station, and a touch phone that allows paying phone calls using the T-money card.

A different view.

Touch phone that allows paying using T-money.

I am not sure whether or not this will change anybody’s life, but I think it’s a great idea. These new booths have, on one side, a public telephone (during the testing period you can make free national calls, including cellphones!). On the other side there is room for an advertisement that I guess they will use to finance all the operation. In the center there is the main device, a huge touchscreen that very much reminds on an iPhone, showing information about the subway station’s emergency exits, nearby restaurants and interesting places, news, and even a Google Streetview-like interactive map of the subway station’s surroundings. They have called this map “Digital View”. I recorded a small video so that you can view the “device” in action:

Related Posts

1. Seoul Subway: Life Changes?
2. Seoul International Fireworks Festival 2007
3. One Month in Seoul

¿The reason? The evil ActiveX controls, enemies of any browser different from the one that comes “imposed” by the Microsoft Windows operating system. Basically, any Korean website involving secure transactions (bank websites, e-shopping, e-government, etc.) requires ActiveX controls. This has specially affected Mozilla Firefox, IE’s main competitor, which has already presented this subject to the Korean Fair Trade Commission.

Sadly, in South Korea, most people just don’t know that there are alternatives to IE. IE’s market share in Korea last month was 98.66%. Mozilla Firefox and the new Google Chrome together hardly reached 1%, Safari had 0.17% and Opera 0.04%:

Source: TechnoKimchi, Logger.co.kr

Just as example, I have bank accounts in four Spanish banks, one american bank, and one Korean bank (not because I have a lot of money, but because I don’t like to put all my eggs in one basket). I can access all my bank accounts online from (almost) any operating system and/or web browser, but the one in Korea. The only account that requires IE (and hence, Microsoft Windows) is the Korean one. And what happens if I try to access this bank account from Firefox in my Ubuntu Linux? This:

A little window suggests me (in perfect Korean) to install Windows XP SP2. And we are talking about one of the main banks in South Korea. It’s the same with ALL OF THEM. Sad, isn’t it?

For those who what to know more about this topic, the root of this problem is perfectly explained here (warning: only for freaks).

By the way:

Related Posts

1. Downloading Ubuntu
2. Korean Demonstration
3. Launch of Online Free Expression Day

The truth is South Korea, a country that regards itself as a developed country and that wants to be among the technologically most advanced countries in the world, also censors the Internet. This censorship mainly affects pornographic or North Korea related websites (not all of them, only a few actually). Obviously, there are always methods to access these websites through web proxies.

When searching google.co.kr for the keyword “sex” no pornographic links are shown (besides, coincidentally I hope, the first link is a documentary about comfort-women used by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II).

To see all the results from the search, you have to prove you are over 19 by entering your Korean name and ID.

Related Posts

1. Downloading Ubuntu
2. Korean Websites and ActiveX Controls
3. Learning English On-line

They needed someone who looked as a foreigner (basically, anyone with light hair and big eyes). In Korea (just like in all Asia in general), people usually can’t distinguish a Spaniard from an American, we all are just “oegugin” (foreigner). In the picture, I’m supposed to be an English native teacher, and Yoon-Jung is my student. She’s learning English through Skype video-conference, a pretty good idea, taking into account that:

1. English has become a key factor among young generations in South Korea. When it comes to getting a job after graduation, I’d say South Korea is one of the most competitive countries in the world, and being able to communicate in English is absolutely mandatory in today’s global business world.
2. The Internet has become an essential part of life in Korea, specially among high-school and college students, who usually prefer to chat with friends rather than actually meet them. Besides, Internet connectivity is practically ubiquitous in South Korea, and seeing people surfing the web or chatting on the bus or subway is not uncommon at all these days, so why not learning English while you are in the subway on your way home?

The newspaper article.

Detail of the picture, with Yoon-Jung talking to me by Skype video call.

Related Posts

1. Air Force Show
2. Meeting Blaire
3. Politicians, Candlelights and Mad Cows

Related Posts

1. Korean Websites and ActiveX Controls
2. Launch of Online Free Expression Day
3. Trip to Gumi