Technology--a Korean's Best Friend?

by Eleanor Whitwell

Before I came to Korea, I was under the distinct impression that it was something like Japan with regards to technology. You know, every house equipped with a giant LCD screen television and every kind of electronic goody you can think of, including DVD player, video player, computer, stereo, any game console you can imagine, cellphones, and MP3 players. You name it, they have it.

This isn't exactly true. While in many ways, Korea is much more advanced than New Zealand when it comes to some technology (of course, we import all ours), it's not-quite-there when it comes to other technology.

First amongst the "haves," cellphones.

Everyone has a cellphone. I see little old grannies just off the farm using cellphones more advanced-looking than the yuppiest cellphone in NZ. Ten-year-old kiddies in the 4th grade have cellphones and send texts to each other between classes. They all have these fancy ringtones and the phones can also be used as mp3 players, either with headphones or without. (And I'm telling you, it's REALLY annoying without the headphones!) Answering a cellphone seems to be the most important thing ever. Most Koreans always answer their phones, no matter what they're doing. Teachers' meeting? Not important! Negotiating a narrow, windy road at 100 km/h? No worries! You only need one hand to drive! And fumbling in the bag on the passenger seat takes a minimum of concentration. I've had to shut my eyes and hold on for dear life countless times. The worst was the time the freakin' bus driver used a cellphone while going down a very steep, very windy hill. He didn't get a call. Oh no. He made a call.

Also high on the "haves" list: MP3 players. If it's not included in their phone, most people you see probably have an mp3 player somewhere else on their person. School kiddies frequently have the earbuds looped round their necks and the player in their shirt pockets. Very common. Discman? What's a discman? What is this strange thing you speak of?

That brings us nicely to my next point, the biggie on the "have-nots" list: media! Oh, media, how do I miss thee...

Everyone here has up-to-the-SECOND cellphones. Every kid has an mp3 player which must have cost a bomb. BUT! There is nowhere in this town (containing many schools and even a small university) where you can buy a DVD. Any DVD. They do not exist. They have shops filled to the brim with any video you can dream of, but DVDs are nowhere to be found. The electronics shops sell DVD players, but there's nary a DVD anywhere to be found. On a similar note, finding CDs is also very difficult. Some shops have a tiny selection of a few Korean artists and some fairly dated non-Korean artists, but the majority of their music stock is--get this--cassette tapes. It's as if they went straight from cassette tapes to mp3 players without doing the CD thing in between.

Unfortunately, I have to travel for over an hour to get to a town where I can buy DVDs. And even there it's a real challenge to finding a shop that will sell you a DVD, not just rent it to you. I don't get it.

One lesson living in Korea has taught me is that this culture and mine have vastly different priorities, and it's definitely taking some getting used to.