Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Essay draft 2


Save The North

Smart appliances such as S5, Note 4 and Tab S are the latest products in Samsung Galaxy series. These technological gadgets are commonly seen in South Korea. However, many North Koreans living in their isolated communist world may not even know the existence of these modern products.

The level of information and communications technology (ICT) in Democratic People’s Republic of  Korea (DPRK) is awfully low, with more than 93% of its population without an access to mobile cellular (“The World Factbook”, 2011). On the other hand, the number of mobile phones in the South is 5% more than the number of South Koreans (Park, 2011).

DPRK’s enterprises and foreign authorities can save the North’s fate of losing out to the South in terms of ICT level by increasing the ICT access and knowledge among the current and future generations of the workforce in DPRK to protect both the ‘micro’ and ‘macro’ sectors of the North.  Due to these devastating impacts of the ICT deficiency, the individuals and the nation are also motivated to increase their access to ICT in DPRK.

The “Micro” and “Macro” losses


As technology advances, the inadequate ICT devices and skills among the workforce of DPRK causes them to ‘lose out’ to the internet-savvy South Koreans. Looking at the ‘micro’ level, the employability of a North Korean worker, who lacks the ICT knowledge, may be lower than that of another South Korean. This is because North Koreans, who cannot catch up with the modern technology to maximise their productivity and profit the company, may not be valued in multi-national companies (MNCs) (“Connecting to Work: How ICTs Are Expanding Job Opportunities Worldwide”, 2013).

The ‘macro’ problem arises when DPRK’s economy is filled with workers who are unequipped with ICT skills. Thus, DPRK faces difficulty in transforming from a labour-based to a skill-based economy and this results in an extremely low Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita of USD 1, 800 (“The World Factbook”, 2011). Looking at this broader picture of digital divide, we can see that the lack of ICT has affected DPRK‘s economy negatively, while South Korea’s high-tech industries turn her into a highly developed nation. It is why many individuals and, in fact, the whole DPRK are willing to take a pro-ICT stand ("Digital Review of Asia Pacific 2009-2010", 2010).

Political obstacles and possibilities


Although DPRK’s political restriction over ICT is a big obstacle that creates the digital divide between the two Koreas, Bruce (2012) asserts that it is possible for the communist government to relinquish its control over the flow of information within DPRK as several pro-ICT political attempts have been implemented. According to him, Koryolink, the DPRK’s only 3G mobile operator is “blessed” by the “Dear Leader”, Kim Jong Il. Do (2013) also reports that the current leader, Kim Jong Sung allows the North Koreans catch glimpses of the “outside world” with intranet. These governmental efforts demonstrate DPRK’s willingness to shift its political stance gradually for the economic benefits of ICT. Thus, efforts from the enterprise sectors and foreign powers are possible to carry out and the positive effects of bridging the digital gap by these efforts can further entice the Stalinist government to quicken its steps towards the ICT world.

Local effort-the IT classes


To raise the North Koreans’ labour productivity, local companies in DPRK can provide IT classes for their employees. Companies can collaborate to conduct these cost-effective courses for a larger population of employees by hiring a few IT experts. Such partnership may even flourish the industry of IT classes, which is currently absent in DPRK, to benefit a greater community of North Koreans. These company-funded IT courses impart the relevant ICT knowledge to the employees, who have little interaction with the high-tech devices due to the low GDP per capita. This knowledge on how to operate the computer programmes will help the workers manipulate raw data effectively into useful information for analyse. Thus, we can conclude that these IT classes can increase the North Korean workers’ economic productivity.


International efforts- Student Exchange Programmes and Subsidised ICT products

 
On the other hand, international parties can contribute to reduce the digital gap by providing ICT educational opportunities for the future members of DPRK’s workforce. Just like how foreign internships of Choson Exchange have exposed many North Koreans students to the outside world (“Choson Exchange”, 2014), student exchanges between universities of DPRK and ICT-developed nations can help the students to gain more ICT knowledge while they are in these ICT-advanced environments. However, such programmes may only benefit the rich minority students. Thus, foreign subsidisation of ICT devices for universities in DPRK is another plausible effort. For instance, the South government can cooperate with South Korea’s large MNC, Samsung to sell cheaper tablets to the schools in DPRK. Lee and Hwang (2004) also feel that DPRK’s close neighbour, South Korea, with her financial resources and established ICT infrastructure, is the best foreign power to intervene and boost DPRK’s ICT level. According to them, high-tech companies in the South can also benefit by expanding their market to DPRK. In this way, the future North Korean workforce will be equipped with ICT skills while the South can earn profits from these sales of technological gadgets.

Mission Possible

 
Just like how no one in the 20th century believes that the Sick Man of Asia will become the second greatest economy in the world in 2010 (McCurry and Kollewe, 2011), not many people believe that bridging the digital divide on Korean peninsula is possible. This is why I feel that contributions from the local businesses and foreign interventions to improve the ICT infrastructure and knowledge among the present and future labour force of DPRK are important. The successful impacts of increasing ICT access in DPRK may convince the North government to take a more ICT-inclined stand. Furthermore, the 'micro' and 'macro' benefits from the access to ICT, in my opinion, encourage individuals and the whole country to hasten their steps towards the digital world. This is a “mission possible” which builds its foundation from the support of the people, the businesses, the nation and the foreign powers.

 

References:

1.       Bruce, S. T. (2012). Information Technology in North Korea: A Double-Edged Sword. Retrieved October 9, 2014, from http://www.jpri.org/publications/workingpapers/wp118.html

2.       Choson Exchange. (2014). Retrieved October 4, 2014, from http://www.chosonexchange.org/mission-and-history/

3.       Connecting to Work: How ICTs Are Expanding Job Opportunities Worldwide. (2013). Retrieved September 30, 2014, from http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2013/09/10/how-icts-are-expanding-job-opportunities


5.       Do, A. M. (2013). As North Korea Opens Up Slowly, the Populace Gets Online Peeks of the Outside World. Retrieved October 9, 2014, from http://www.techinasia.com/north-korea-opens-slowly-populace-online-peeks-world/

6.       Lee, H. J. & Hwang, J. H. (2004). ICT Development in North Korea: Changes and Challenges. Retrieved September 30, 2014, from www.itidjournal.org/index.php/itid/article/download/193/63

7.       McCurry, J. & Kollewe, J. (2011). China overtakes Japan as world's second-largest economy. Retrieved October 4, 2014, from http://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/feb/14/china-second-largest-economy

8.       Park, M. C. (2011). Digital Policy of Korea Issues and Challenges. Retrieved September 30, 2014, from http://www.eurocpr.org/data/2013/Park_Korea.pdf

9.       The World Factbook. (2012). Retrieved September 30, 2014, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kn.html

 
 
 
 

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