Internet users crowd a PC room, or Internet cafe, in Seoul. The country's Internet penetration rate for people over the age of six reached 77.1 percent as of July, according to a report by the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) Tuesday. / Korea Times File |
Web Is Locus for Reading, Buying, Talking to Friends, etc
By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Internet penetration among Koreans under 40 is nearing 100 percent as Web applications such as e-mails, blogs and instant messaging services become more essential in their work and personal lives.
About 60 percent of online users said they prefer reading news stories on the Web than reading newspapers, while 60 percent of users above 12 say they regularly buy from Internet shopping sites, according to the Korea Communications Commission Tuesday.
``The Internet is certainly changing the way people work, spend money and do business, and e-mails, Web communities and blogs have emerged as conventional methods of communication,'' said Jeong Yeon-man, an official from KCC's Internet policy bureau.
``The Internet is also spawning a new ecosystem in the economy, as about half of Internet users are using the Web for commerce and banking. With nearly 11 percent saying they purchased products or services after clicking on to banner advertisements, the business potential of Internet portals remains enormous too,'' he said.
The country's Internet penetration rate among people over six years of age was 77.1 percent at the end of July, representing about 35.36 million users. The average Internet user spends 13.7 hours per week online.
More than 98 percent said they use the Web mostly at home, while 34 percent said they have longer log-on hours at work.
The report was based on a survey of 17,000 households nationwide between June and July. The study also revealed that Koreans are increasingly considering the Internet as the most reliable source of information.
About 52.5 percent of respondents said they check the Internet first when needing to know something, and more than 23 percent said they have paid for accessing Web content before.
About 63 percent said they access the content of traditional media outlets like television, newspapers, and radio through the Web.
More than 82.5 percent owned an e-mail account and nearly 50 percent were members of Web communities.
Koreans in their 30s accounted for the largest number of users at around 8.17 million, representing a penetration rate of 98.6 percent. Online users in their 20s were counted at 7.17 million, a penetration rate of 99.7 percent, followed by 6.85 million people in their 40s, an 82 percent rate.
Virtually all 6.33 million Korean teens surveyed were Internet users, with a penetration rate of calculated at 99.9 percent.
The rate was 81.6 percent for men and 71.5 percent for women, a disparity explained perhaps by a difference in jobs.
About 99.6 percent of white-collar workers were Internet users, while the number was 75.6 percent for those in the services industry and sales, and 63.4 percent among housewives.
Although the country continues to represent one of the strongest online populations in the world, a digital divide also remained evident. The vast majority of the people not online were found not to have received education beyond middle school, according to the KCC report.
The Internet penetration rate was 97.1 percent for those with college degrees, and 78.2 percent for high-school graduates. However, only 34 percent of middle school graduates and 28.4 percent of elementary school graduates were Internet users.
thkim@koreatimes.co.kr
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yistory@koreatimes.co.kr
