Wired: A case study of the Seoul Subway

In my last moments in Seoul, it occurs to me that I haven't properly blogged about what it's like to live in the most wired country on earth. Well, it's not as if it's the Jetsons or I'm living in the future or anything. But life is a lot more convenient in a lot of ways...and maybe kinda futuristic, too? The Seoul Metro is a good example of this.

Yet another cute Korean mascot - this time, in the form of an anthropomorphic subway car.

Besides being sparkling clean and super efficient (on Line 2, I sometimes wait a mere 90 seconds - if that! - between trains), the Seoul Metro (subway, tube, whatever you want to call it) is an example how high-tech and "wired" Korea (or at least Seoul) can be.

Of course, I realize that "wired" usually refers to internet (and, specifically, broadband) access, but I'm most impressed with the cell phone network and the "wired" status that this brings.


First of all, there are few (any?) where that you will not have cellular reception in Seoul. Are you in the subway? In an elevator? Buried alive six feet under the ground? You'll have full reception anywhere. This makes text messaging a popular activity on the subway.

Also, I've seen quite a few Korean phones equipped with satellite TV, so you can catch up on your favorite shows, too. A lot of people just buy little satellite TVs and watch those.

Of course, it's not as if a TV is ever far away....

Check out those flatscreens while you're waiting for your train (you know, the 90 seconds or so...).

Or during your actual subway journey. Unfortunately, it's mostly commercials and news tidbits. Still, it's all pretty impressive to someone used to the now-very-obviously-subpar Chicago and New York subway systems.

Living in the future all comes with a price, of course. This story specifically references internet addiction in South Korea (oddly enough, people don't use their phones to surf the web very much....although they do have Korean-English dictionaries and subway maps on them). While awesome cell phone services do not equal playing interactive video games for 16 hours a day, you can only imagine what it must be like to live in a society so connected to everyone and everything by cell phones and computers. Take the good and bad where you will.