The Solution to the Digital Divide in Korea
We use information every day, and information plays an important role in our lives.
However, as the means of obtaining information increase, the problem of the Digital Divide
arises. Digital Divide refers to the phenomenon of information-rich and poor, which increases
over time the differences in knowledge or information levels between individuals, groups, or
social classes or countries (Hwang, 2011). It means that the Digital Divide is an inequality
caused by differences in accessing information. It causes many problems like social
inequalities. The Digital Divide seems like an inevitable phenomenon in an information
society, but we can solve this problem through methods of expanding information service
education, developing technology, and expanding institutional support.
With the development of technology, to live without digital is too inconvenient and
almost impossible. When banks close in Korea, people who live without digital cannot
conduct banking transactions. However, people who are good at using digital could do
banking transactions on their digital devices. The growing number of kiosks for automation
of work, such as the self-ordering machine of the restaurant, is also hard to use for people
living without digital. It is easy to find the kiosk anywhere like Mcdonalds, convenience
stores, superstores, and movie theaters. It provides convenience to someone, but some people
feel uncomfortable. It causes great inconvenience for people living without digital because
they need help to order something (Nam, 2019). Also, people who live without digital devices
often experience inconvenience when buying tickets because they have to go and purchase
tickets in person. It is not difficult to book tickets a few hours earlier on the Internet, but it is
not easy to arrive a few hours earlier and book in person. For example, on a holiday train,
some elderly are standing up because they could not buy tickets, and some young people take
their seats by booking seats quickly on the Internet (Ko, 2019). These three examples show
social inequalities from the Digital Divide.
These inequalities that people who cannot use digital experience are actually
happening, so we should look at the present state of the Digital Divide. Scores below allow us
to understand the real situation that the Digital Divide exists. Suppose that the level at which
the general public of Korea can use digital is 100. Respectively, the level at which the
disabled, the elderly, farmers and fishermen, and people in the lower-income can use digital is
75.2, 64.3, 87.3, 70.6, and 61.1 (Ministry of Science and ICT, 2019). All scores are less than
90, and some are even less than 70. It means that there are people who suffer disadvantages
due to digital ability. Those people with lower levels of digital use than the general public are
called information alienated groups. As I mentioned above, these include the disabled, the
elderly, farmers and fishermen, and people in lower-income. Recently, North Korean refugees
and people who are married internationally are also considered to be part of the information
alienated groups. It is because they are in a difficult position in access to information in
Korea.
The information alienated groups have several difficulties that make them hard to use
digital information. Access to information and using information are examples of those
difficulties. Access to information has improved significantly due to continuous efforts to
solve the Digital Divide in recent years. The level of digital devices owned by the
information alienated groups in Korea is 91.7% by the general public (Ministry of Science
and ICT, 2019). The hardest part for them is the use. Their ability to use digital devices is
60.2% compared to the general public (Ministry of Science and ICT, 2019). It shows that the
largest cause of the Digital Divide is its ability to employ. It means solving the using ability
problem is the most important thing to the Digital Divide. Then, how can we solve the
information alienated groups’ ability to employ digital devices?
Let’s look at three U.S. policy cases to explore efficient solutions to the Digital
Divide problem. The first is the Technology Opportunity Program. The Technology
Opportunity Program is an information and communication support program (Kim, 2007). It
supports opportunities to access information technology to the information alienated groups
and those who have difficulty accessing information and communication. The second is the
Community Technology Center. The Community Technology Center provides IT education,
especially for the information ability of economically marginalized groups (Kim, 2007). The
third is the reduction of communication expenses for public institutions (Kim, 2007). By
reducing communication expenses for public institutions, public institutions will have more
communication services available to people, and people will have the opportunity to access
information through public institutions. As can be seen here, the U.S. focuses on access to
information, but this is not an efficient way in Korea, where even the information alienated
groups can easily access information.
On the other hand, Finland has policies for the use of information from digital
devices. Finland emphasizes the importance of digital education and encourages participation
in digital education (Hong, 2008). Encouraging participation in digital education can also
mean that Finland has a much digital education program. To encourage participation in the
digital education program, they design a highly accessible web (Hong, 2008). It seems to be a
policy to reduce the number of people who are reluctant to learn online because of the hard
web. As another way to encourage participation in digital education, they discuss ways to
improve the welfare of the aged through the Internet (Hong, 2008). More people will
participate in Internet education if they can get better welfare through the Internet. Finland
focuses on digital education, and they concern about how to lead to more participation. It
could be an efficient way in Korea also.
Now, let's see if Korean policies are an efficient direction for Korea through three
policy cases. Korea has established and implemented various systems to make information
and communication services available to all people. By distributing computers to home and
installing computers in public places for free, the government builds digital infrastructure
(Kim, 2007). Second, digital information education became mandatory in elementary schools,
and a system to develop digital ability was introduced in middle and high schools (Kim,
2007). Kim(2007) also states that Korea has digital education programs for the disabled and
homemakers. Thirdly the government enforces institutional support. Examples of institutional
support may include the reduction of communication expenses for public institutions, and the
provision of digital devices to the information alienated groups (“The Framework Act on
National Informatization”, 2019). Korea seems to have both access to information and using
ability policies. However, there are some problems and things that need to be supplemented.
There are three more things to consider for the policy of resolving the Digital Divide
in Korea. As I said earlier, the largest cause of the Digital Divide is the lack of ability to
employ, so solving this problem is the most important thing to solve the Digital Divide in
Korea. Therefore, the policy for the Digital Divide should ensure that access to information
can lead to information literacy. Second, there is no education that can cover the entire
information alienated groups. We can easily notice that digital education mostly focuses on
students such as elementary, middle, high school students. Finally, some problems cannot be
solved only by education. In the case of people with disabilities who cannot access
information due to physical deprivation, just learning how to use the digital device is not
helpful. In some cases of the elderly, they do not participate in education well due to their
indifference to information technology. It means that we need more than education.
Then, what are the ways to overcome the limitations of current policies and
efficiently resolve the Digital Divide? Education for various people is needed in different
areas so that the elderly, farmers and fishermen, and people who are married internationally
can get digital education. It is also necessary to learn how to apply digital devices to specific
situations, not just how to use them. The technology that can be used by people with physical
disabilities is necessary. The digital devices that older people want to use are also essential.
For example, add the function that the elderly need. It will also help people to participate in
the digital education program. The Framework Act on National Informatization (2019)
supports this technology development, so various companies need to take an active interest in
this problem. At present, access to information is getting better, and the level of access to
information by the information alienated groups has become more than 90% of the general
public. Nevertheless, efforts such as supporting devices and education together are still
needed so that the information alienated groups can have the same level of access to
information as the general public. It is not difficult to ensure that these methods can be
realized in practice. It is important to continue to pay attention to the problems of the Digital
Divide and the difficulties faced by the information alienated groups.
The largest reason for the Digital Divide in Korea is the difficulty of using
information among the alienated groups. As I have emphasized several times in this essay,
solving this problem plays the most substantial role in resolving the Digital Divide. We
reviewed overseas cases to find ways to solve the Digital Divide, but in the case of the United
States, the policies were difficult to apply to Korea. Finland solves the problem through
education and motivation to participate in education, so there were some points to reflect in
Korea. Finally, we looked at Korean policies and thought about defects and solutions. We
also pointed out that the most necessary thing to realize these solutions is interest in the
Digital Divide from all of you. To summarize, we were able to approach settling the Digital
Divide efficiently by exploring the causes of it and analyzing cases of domestic and foreign.
In conclusion, diversification of education on digital information, the development of various
technologies, and continuous support through the system is necessary to resolve the Digital
Divide efficiently.
References
2019 Digital divide survey. (2019). Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.
Hong, M. H. (2008). A study of the Korean digital divide policy (Masters dissertation).
Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.
Hwang, H. K. (2011). Digital Divide, The Information Gap in the Mobile Age (Masters
dissertation). Korea University, Seoul, Korea.
Kim, Y. M. (2007). A study on the solution of the digital divide for information
disadvantaged groups (Masters dissertation). Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea.
Ko, H. J. (2019). The lunar new year train, the elderly in standing seats. [online] The
Kyunghyang Shinmun. Retrieved from:
http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201902040900011&code
=940100 [Accessed 24 Oct. 2020.]
Nam, W. J. (2019). If I can't use smart devices, will I die? The problem of digital divide
polarization is also a problem. [online] The Herald Business. Retrieved from:
http://biz.heraldcorp.com/culture/view.php?ud=201901111157253657060_1
[Accessed 23 Oct. 2020].
The framework act on national informatization. (2019, December 10). [online] National Law
Information Center. Retrieved from:
https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/lsInfoP.do?efYd=20200611&lsiSeq=212081#0000
[Accessed 23 Oct. 2020]