I doubt there is anywhere in Seoul, overground or underground, that you can not connect to the Internet with high speed broadband. Seoul is the most data connected city in the world and the evidence of this is visible everywhere. The use of tablet computers in education is not a discussion, every student has one. Mobile and broadband TV is the norm, there are no TV antennas to be seen.
While the Bazflyers were on one of our wanderings in Seoul we came across a restored Bongsu. While examining the interesting stone structure a thought occurred to us that perhaps Korea's embodiment of broadband connectivity was simply history reoccurring in a different format.
Baz Copilot
Somewhere around 1150, Korea established a beacon signaling system called Bongsu which means 'beacon and smoke'. These were used to deliver urgent military information from the boarder area to the capital. The system consisted of beacon towers built on high hills and mountain peaks at intervals of several to tens of kilometers. These towers used smoke during daytime and beacon fires by night to convey messages. Bongsu were an important part of the central nervous system of the nation and indispensable in maintaining an effective centralized rule.
Restored Bongsu
In today''s world Seoul's central nervous system is most definitely high-speed broadband and the economic benefits this enables are not hard to see. Consumer products from Sumsung, LG and other Korean technology companies dominate global markets. Our visit to Seoul's bustling electronic market place was electronics on another planet. Covering an area the size of a small New Zealand town were shops and high rise buildings ALL dedicated to some aspect of computer hardware, electronics and IT services of every description. Not easy to describe but begin with Dick Smith's on steroids and then multiply it by a big number. Unbelievable….!
Electronics Market
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