Smartphones reshape Korean lives
Stock trading, e-commerce and social media see mobile jolt
By Kim Tae-gyu
Kang Jung-hee, a 37-year-old office worker in Seoul, tends to keep her eyes and fingers glued to her smartphone whenever she has spare time, since she snapped it up midway through last year.
Like many others, she started using entertainment applications such as various games and social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Now, she uses it for more diverse purposes on the back of the mobile Internet.
``In the office, I felt that somebody might monitor my desktop online or offline. You know, the company blocked access to a host of websites. Out of the office, I was free but I was not hooked to the Internet,’’ Kang said.
``My smartphone addressed the dilemma by offering a cheap wireless Internet connection. Presently, I can do whatever I want to do through my handset both in and out of the office. I can trade stocks or shop online at any time and at any place.’’
Kang is not be the only Korean enjoying the benefits of the go-anywhere Internet services offered by smartphones with more than 10 million people using the high-tech gadgets here.
Handset-based stock transactions have risen since 2009 when the smartphone craze started in Korea with the advent of the Apple iPhone.
The Korea Exchange, the operator of the Seoul bourses, said Sunday that merely 1.69 percent of stocks in terms of value changed hands through mobile devices in 2009 but the figure jumped to 4.76 percent last month.
In particular, 7.78 percent of stock trades were carried out through mobile devices on the tech-loaded Kosdaq market in April and the proportion is expected to top the 10 percent mark this year.
``A mounting number of people appear to buy and sell shares through smartphones thanks to their fast spread. We might have to pay more attention to the trend,’’ a KRX official said.
In this climate, many local brokerages compete to meet the demand for smartphone-enabled stock transactions by coming up with dedicated applications or slashing commission.
Another segment that is feeling the influence of the mobile Internet services is social commerce with many youngsters enjoying its price benefits on smartphones.
Social commerce arrived a few years ago, matching purchasers with vendors on the Internet. It was a win-win solution _ consumers can buy products or services at cheaper prices thanks to bulk discounts while sellers can chalk up large revenues by securing a large number of clients.
Market consultancies estimated that the domestic market for social commerce was in the vicinity of 60 billion won ($53 million) last year. They expect that the size will explode with social commerce companies mushrooming.
``Social commerce is possible under fixed-line Internet but its potential grows far bigger with mobile Internet. In that sense, it is the perfect fit for smartphone users and many entrepreneurs are tapping in to the emerging industry,’’ a Seoul analyst said.
``Likewise, businesses have to understand the big implications of wireless Internet services, which will keep penetrating the country in the future. Otherwise, they may lose the chance to hit the jackpot.’’
스마트폰, 대한민국의 일상과 산업의 얼굴을 바꾼다
스마트폰 사용자가 1,000만명을 넘어서면서 사람들의 일상과 산업에 새로운 변화가 본격적으로 일어나고 있다.
1일 증권거래소에 따르면 스마트폰과 같은 무선단말을 이용한 거래액이 지난 달 기준으로 5% 수준에 육박했다. 아이폰이 스마트폰 열풍을 처음으로 몰고왔던 2009년 1.69%에 비해 획기적으로 늘어났다.
특히 코스닥 시장에서는 4월 현재 7.78%로 늘어나면서 올해 안으로 10% 돌파가 예상되고 있다.
이에 각 증권사는 스마트폰 맞춤형 상품이나 수수료 할인 등으로 모바일 기반 고객들을 유혹하고 있다.
한편 최근 급격히 부상하고 있는 소셜 커머스도 스마트폰의 확대 덕분으로 해석하는 이들이 늘고 있다. 소셜 커머스는 유선 인터넷으로도 얼마던지 가능하지만 언제 어디서나 인터넷에 연결되는 스마트폰과 궁합이 잘 맞기 때문이다.