Internet in South Korea#Network Fee policy

South Korea has the most DSL connections per capita worldwide.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} ADSL is standard, but VDSL has started growing quickly. ADSL commonly offers speeds of 3 Mbit/s to 8 Mbit/s, with VDSL accordingly faster. The large proportion of South Korea's population living in apartment blocks helps the spread of DSL, as does a high penetration of consumer electronics in general. Many apartment buildings in built-up metropolitan areas have speeds of up to 100 Mbit/s such as the capital Seoul and Incheon{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}. VDSL is commonly found in newer apartments while ADSL is normally found in landed properties where the telephone exchange is far away.

The Internet has a higher status for many Koreans than it does in the West and the government actively supports this.{{cite web |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10434930-94.html |title=Akamai: World's Net connection speeds rising |first=Lance|last=Whitney |publisher=CNET News |date=14 January 2010 |access-date=12 October 2010}} According to the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, South Korea's internet is the most developed in the world.{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90881/6404489.html |title=South Korea's broadband network most developed | date= 5 May 2008 |publisher=People's Daily Online |access-date=12 October 2010}} Seoul has been called "the bandwidth capital of the world".{{cite web| url=https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.08/korea.html |title=The Bandwidth Capital of the World |first= J.C. |last=Hertz|date=August 2002 |publisher=Wired.com |access-date=12 October 2010}}

There are three major ISPs: KT Corporation, SK Broadband (previously Hanaro Telecom), and LG Uplus (previously Powercomm and DACOM). They provide broadband and Internet circuit including Ethernet and operating Internet data centers in Seoul. Major MSOs are LG Hellovision, SK Broadband Cable, DLIVE, HCN and CMB.

As of July 25, 2024, South Korea had the 6th fastest mobile internet and 31st fastest broadband speeds at 139Mbit/s and 150Mbit/s respectively.{{Cite web |title=Speedtest Global Index – Internet Speed around the world |url=https://www.speedtest.net/global-index |access-date=2024-07-25 |website=Speedtest Global Index |language=en}}

There was a government-level law to stamp out anonymity in the South Korean internet environment.{{cite news | first = Eric | last = Pfanner | title = Naming Names on the Internet | date = 2011-09-04 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/05/technology/naming-names-on-the-internet.html | work = The New York Times | access-date = 2011-09-24}} It was overturned by the constitutional court.{{Cite web |date=2012-08-23 |title=Real names no longer required online: South Korean court |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/real-names-no-longer-required-online-south-korean-court-flna961016 |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=NBC News |language=en}}

The government is considering passing a bill, wherein online services (e.g. Netflix, YouTube) will have to pay a 'Network Fee' to ISPs depending on how much internet traffic they generate. It is supposed to compensate ISPs for the increased maintenance costs due to increased internet usage. This bill will also infringe upon net neutrality.{{Cite web |title=[넷플릭스 韓패싱] ③ 망중립성과 망이용대가 상관관계?...'공유지 비극' 부른다 |url=https://www.inews24.com/view/1523925 |access-date=2022-09-29 |website=inews24 |date=29 September 2022 |language=ko}}{{Cite web |date=2022-09-29 |title=구글‧넷플 vs 국내 이통사...불 붙는 '망 이용료' 신경전 |url=https://www.nocutnews.co.kr/news/5824929 |access-date=2022-09-29 |website=No Cut News}}

{{excerpt|South Korean web culture}}

{{Off topic|date=August 2024}}

Internet addiction is very common across the world. Factors of internet addiction be anything online, whether excessively playing video games, compulsive shopping, going back and forth with social media, etc.{{cite web | title=Criteria for Internet Addictive Disorder | website=psycom.net | date=2002-08-08 | url=https://www.psycom.net/iadcriteria.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020410150547/https://www.psycom.net/iadcriteria.html | archive-date=2002-04-10 | url-status=dead }} Major symptoms of internet addiction consist of "depression, anxiety, isolation, avoidance of work, and some physical conditions of backache, headaches, insomnia, neck pain, etc. Particularly in South Korea, almost 95% of adults own a smartphone which some experts say is becoming increasingly addicted to the Internet.{{cite web | last=Sullivan | first=Michael | title=Hooked On The Internet, South Korean Teens Go Into Digital Detox | website=NPR | date=2019-08-13 | url=https://www.npr.org/2019/08/13/748299817/hooked-on-the-internet-south-korean-teens-go-into-digital-detox | access-date=2024-08-05}} This is because the South Korean environment allows easy access to the internet to almost any online users in the country. Any ages of Koreans can access the internet easily from one neighborhood to another. Almost 20% of the South Korea population are in major risk of internet addiction which advocates to nearly 10 million people according to a 2018 government survey.

In South Korea, there are places where anyone can access the internet easily at common places known as "PC Bang" in American terms known as "PC Café". PC Bangs are often "shiny places with big, comfy chairs, huge screens and fast Internet, all for about a dollar an hour". Most of the PC Bangs are open 24 hours a day which is a major cause to internet addiction from ages type ranging from young teenagers to adults. A PC Bang owner in Seoul's upmarket Gangnam neighborhood stated the following "some customers who play too long gets smelly, and other customers start to complain, so we have to ask them to leave". Due to major issues similarly to the owner stating above, Seoul's Hanyang University psychiatrists who studies internet addiction believes that South Korea is facing a public health crisis.

Although there's major disagreements whether Internet Addiction causes symptoms, "most authors agree that the preoccupation with the Internet and withdrawal symptoms (e.g., dysphoria, anxiety, irritability) when unable to access the internet must be present".{{cite book|last1=Uribe |first1=LM. |last2=Schub |first2=T. |date=September 28, 2018 |title=Internet Addiction |series=CINAHL Nursing Guide |publisher=EBSCO Publishing}} Just like many common addictions, symptoms occur whether its alcohol, drugs, gambling, shopping, and many more. Every addiction is unique from one another due to its nature of addiction but behind the addiction are almost too similar due to what it is doing with the brain controlling and manipulating the human to do a certain act based on the type of addiction.

Other symptoms of internet addiction can consist "development of tolerance, repeated inability to cut back on Internet use, disregard for the consequences (physical, psychological, and/or social) of overuse, loss of interest in other activities in favor of Internet use, and Internet use as a means of escape or mood elevation (Tao et al., 2010)". Just like all addictions, there are treatments that are created to treat and solve an addiction.

Some ways that internet addiction can be solved especially for younger children is for parents to be more proactive when letting children having access to the internet on the daily as well as the number of devices. Parents are critical when it comes to children being addicted to the internet due to the responsibilities it has on the daily usage of internet.{{cite book | first=Kimberly S. | last=Young | last2=De Abreu | first2=C.N. | title=Internet Addiction in Children and Adolescents: Risk Factors, Assessment, and Treatment | publisher=Springer Publishing Company | year=2017 | isbn=978-0-8261-3373-1 |page=155}}

In South Korea, there are "regional education offices that provide services such as in-school counseling, screening surveys, preventive disciplines and, for severe cases, addiction camp". The South Korean government provides and finances most of the camps through the national or municipal levels, which it has been doing for more than a decade.

The internet addiction camp is a place "where people can go to receive help for the unhealthy relationship that they have with the internet".{{cite web | title=South Korean internet addiction camp: What is life like there? | website=BBC Newsround | date=2019-07-07 | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/48855182}} Its purpose is to support those who are in need by becoming more independent from the internet and depict their views when using the internet. The rules are very strict as it does not allow phones and any devices are must be given to the instructors immediately especially like hair straighteners. Its goal is to help the people to find ways to be happier when doing other types of activities like craft sessions, games and activities rather than using the internet. Over 1,200 young people have attended the internet addiction camp since 2014.

• Internet censorship in South Korea
• Net neutrality
• Digital divide in South Korea
• Ministry of Science and ICT

• {{Citation |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/13/internet-addiction-south-korea |title=Internet addiction driving South Koreans into realms of fantasy |work=The Guardian |date=July 13, 2010 |first=Justin |last=McCurry}}
• {{Citation |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703964104575334742135824042 |title=South Korea Relaxes Curbs on Web Browsers |work=Wall Street Journal |date=June 30, 2010 |first1=Evan |last1=Ramstad |first2=Jaeyeon |last2=Woo}}

{{Asia topic|Internet in}}