The research project that I am conducting asks the question of: How does internet usage bridge the digital divide in the South Korean Republic? This is a significant question because it investigates a form of scholarly writing, as recommended by Professor Gregory C. Semenza, known as the “gap in scholarship.” This indicates that my specific research question has not been previously studied; at least not during enough occasions for it to have been thoroughly investigated.

In attempting to provide closure to this research gap, I am arguing that: the growth of internet usage in the South Korean Republic has bridged the country’s digital divide. In the recent years, the success achieved by South Korea has become undeniable. The country is becoming increasing connected online with a national internet usage rate at 89.9% (World Bank, 2015). It is a rivalling the United States’ 74.6%. But the South Korean federal government is not stopping there. They are steadily continuing their investments in providing internet services for further improvement, including but not limited to: rural, wireless, broadband, and gigabit connectivity (NYT, 2011). Not to mention that South Korea is home to enormous corporations as: LG, Samsung, and Hyundai. Also, the country set world records for the fastest internet speeds; a famous distinction and trademark of development and progression.

The data I am collecting in my project includes statistics provided by the World Bank, an international financial organization since 1944, detailing national internet usage percentages of almost any country worldwide. Next, I consult financial documentation from MarketLine, from Datamonitor international corporation, which contains further statistics, as well as: charts, graphs, and network maps. Additionally, I found three articles (NYT, Wiley Online Library, and Forbes), as well as a research paper contrasting the DOI (Digital Opportunity Index) development in Botswana, in contrast to that of South Korea.

For this week’s assigned readings, the data summary from professor Kocurek and Nakamura’s research articles entails usage of: images, dates, existing projects, statistics, media, amongst other sources. Specifically professor Kocurek utilized tens of websites, articles, and videogames to reach the conclusion that videogame violence has become so commonplace in its widespread mediums that make it the norm. Nakamura used social media, images, websites, and articles, which strengthened her claim that racialization is not only an existing issue in MMO games, it is a persisting one. Overall, it is evident that the use of diverse forms of evidence can dramatically improve the success of one’s argument in their research endeavors.

References (in order of appearance):

Semenza, Gregory M. Colón (2010). Graduate Study for the Twenty-First Century: How to Build an Academic Career in the Humanities. Rev. & updated 2nd ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

2015 Statistics available at: Korea, Rep. - http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.P2?locations=KR&name_desc=false

McDonald, Mark (2011). “Home Internet may get even faster in South Korea.” New York Times Company. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/technology/22iht-broadband22.html?_r=0

Sedimo, Nonofo, C., Bwalya, Kelvin, J. & Plessis, Tanya Du (2011). “Conquering the digital divide: Botswana and South Korea digital divide status and interventions.” Original Research. http://www.sajim.co.za/index.php/SAJIM/article/viewFile/471/509

Kocurek, Carly, A (2012). “The Agony and the Exidy: A History of Video Game Violence and the Legacy of Death Race.” Game Studies 12 (1). http://gamestudies.org/1201/articles/carly_kocurek.

Nakamura, Lisa (2009). “Don’t Hate the Player, Hate the Game: The Racialization of Labor in World of Warcraft.” Critical Studies in Media Communication 26 (2): 128–44. doi:10.1080/15295030902860252.