I love the subway. There is always a certain sameness about it that borders on the uncanny. You get on at Myeong-dong, Seoul and get off at Times Square, New York. And yet, when you look closely - so different. Like the way people pass the time in the carriages in Korea. Mostly staring at palm sized devices with odd antennae protruding from them. It is one thing to read about Mobile TV in Korea, and another to see it for what it is - part of everyday life. I arrived in Seoul today for a few meetings and to catch up with some old friends. What blows me away about technology in this part of the world is that they don't fetishise it the way we do in the west. The latest gadgets are not sold in gleaming concept stores, but under glaring neons in small markets, wrapped in kitchen grade plastic next to the section with vacuum cleaners. Mighty media executives and regulators on the other side of the world may ponder broadcast standards and business models. But meanwhile a Korean salary man, hemmed in on all sides by fellow workers will catch a few minutes of Dae Jang Geum in between stops.
