Interesting Developments

In preparation to leave for Korea, I did a lot of background research. All of my reading assured me that Korea was a highly developed country, which in many ways it is. For me though, I find it interesting to compare Korea head to head with the USA. When doing this, it is obvious that we Americans focus our thoughts and energy on very different things then the Koreans.

I find that technologically speaking, Korea is light years ahead of us. Not only are they leading the way in new technologies, such as cell phones and killer-fast Internet, but they also have placed great focus on making many things energy efficient. One of my favorite examples are the escalators that are ubiquitous throughout the country.

In the US all escalators operate continuously. In Korea, though, the escalator only start running when you approach them, when everyone is off they stop until someone activates the motion sensor again. A very simple thing, but one that can potentially save a lot of money in operating costs and energy savings.

Another amazing thing that I find fairly common in Korea are the motion censor lights. When I walk into my apartment, the motion sensor light in the entry way turns on, which is very useful for walking into a dark apartment. When you flip on a light in the apartment the motion censor light turns off. When you turn the lights off, the motion sensor light comes on, so it isn't dark when you leave. Again, a very simple thing to do technologically. Also, It just makes a lot of sense.

What gets me though, is that Koreans can use technology and harness it so well, which Americans have always had a problem with, but they also have some of the most poorly designed infrastructure I've ever seen. Roads are clogged, buildings are pretty poorly built, the skies are smoggy and many things are just not well planned out. It really boggles the mind sometimes.

So, Although I find Korea lacking in many areas, you could never say the technological competence is one of them. Also, it probably isn't really fair to compare because your placing a tiny country with a huge population and need for many buildings very quickly up against one of the richest countries in the world that has lots of space for higher quality development. Plus, I've heard that Korea receives a lot of building materials from China, which I've heard are not really the greatest.

JW