New Media Practices in Korea

Abstract

This article looks at new media practices in Korea, such as the Internet, mobile phones, gaming, and new media production. In spite of Korea’s reputation for achieving the most advanced IT and digital media culture, Korean youths’ concrete practices of navigating this new techno-sphere are not well known to the rest of the world. To fill this gap in knowledge, this piece synthesizes findings from academic as well as popular sources in Korean and English on Korean digital youth. Studies of Korean youth media practices provide a fascinating means of furthering our awareness about the integral role of culture in shaping technological use and thus contribute to our understanding of the multi-faceted and heterogeneous construction of the global digital media scene.