Is this just more protection for Korean chaebols?

As you may already know, gaming is hugely popular in Korea. Even ajumas (older, generally married Korean women) play video games (I see this all the time when I ride the subway in Seoul).  Since there’s a lot of money in the gaming industry, especially in Korea, the government is involved.  Korea is the only country I’ve been to where they have television channels dedicated to viewing professional gamers playing online (read the third paragraph of this Wikipedia entry). The Korean government requires that all games be pre-screened and approved by the Games Rating Board of Korea before availability to the public (Why is this even necessary? I need to get to the bottom of this).

So, with the absence of a “game” section for Korean iPhone users in the Apple iTunes Store, what does this mean?

iPhone Games Disguised As Entertainment Applications

First of all, it is said that there is no way that the Games Rating Board has the capacity to screen every single app in the iTunes Store. The Games Rating Board’s mentioned their intent of screening not only the “games” section of the Apple iTunes Store, but also the “entertainment” section. Their announcement brings clarity to alternative routes that will most likely be taken by developers in marketing their iPhone games.

iPhone Web-Based Games

Another serious problem for the Games Rating Board’s objective is the WIFI technology in the iPhone. Although the Chinese iPhones do not have WIFI, the Korean version most likely will have it. If “The Board” decides to pursue iPhone games under the “entertainment” guise in the Apple iTunes Store, developers will cleverly create web-based iPhone games. The iPhone WIFI capability coupled with Korea’s 4G mobile infrastructure, which would otherwise be mobile high-bandwidth pipe dreams for most corners of the planet, are actually a reality for Korea today. Companies like Skyfire have made strides in developing web-based applications that offer a desktop experience for your mobile device such as the iPhone. Expect Flash-based games available via Skyfire-powered mobile browsers.

A Future With iPhone Games

If you’re like me, and you love the iPhone, don’t worry – there will be options. I’m not a big gamer, but if that’s your thing, I don’t anticipate this initiative from the Games Rating Board of Korea to last long. If it does, there’s plenty of other interesting applications available to check out in the meantime.  Getting around this may be as easy as changing the location preferences of your iTunes account to a country where iTunes Store games are “legal.”

Will the absence of a “games” section in the Apple iTunes Store in Korea pose as a serious threat to the iPhone’s popularity in Korea? iPhoneInKorea.com doesn’t think so. The iPod Touch is already the most popular (and the most expensive) MP3 player in Korea.  Although the game-changing component of the iPhone and the iPod Touch are the tens of thousands of applications available in the iTunes Store, there’s plenty more besides game apps that the Korean consumer will notice as attractive features that make the iPhone worth the price premium.

Unless there’s a huge breakthrough elsewhere, the beautiful design, brand recognition, intuitive interface, and advanced technology of the iPhone will prevail and will continually leave it’s competitors following in the dust.

iPhoneinKorea.com Rating = Excellent

Price = $2.99 USD

iKorway is a feature-rich and intuitive subway map application for the city of Seoul (I tried some others which didn’t really have any functions beyond just a photo of the Seoul subway map). If you live in Seoul, you need this app. If you are just visiting, you need this app. This applies to both English and Korean speakers.

The first thing that you’ll struggle with upon arrival is the transportation in this city. You’ll get by if you’re patient, but it will get frustrating at times. Fortunately, most strangers you approach for help in Korea will gladly help.

However, iKorway will take all the guesswork out of your commute if you use the subway system in Seoul. You’d be foolish not to. For a dollar, you can go just about anywhere. The subway system in Korea is expansive enough where it will take you within walking distance of just about anything you want to see within the city. iKorway will help you take advantage of the clean, fast, and cheap subways in Seoul.

Key Features of iKorway

-offline database app – meaning you don’t need an internet connection to use it. It is completely independent of the internet with the exception of a software update periodically

-works with both iPhone and iPod Touch

-currently supports Korean and English…. Japanese and Chinese are coming soon

-intuitive interface – easy to navigate between route searches and station particulars, takes full advantage of touch screen – flick around the map to pin point your destination, pinch to expand or shrink the map, and touch on locations on map to select or get more info

-shows entire time schedule of each station (including bus transfer information) plus other info like bathroom location and platform location

-shows next train departure, travel time, number of transfers, train fare, and distance in kilometers – all automatically

Here’s a screen shot of the “route” function of the app. Notice all the route details shown at the top (which updates automatically if you miss the departure time to the next departure time). The two icons at the bottom (the first icon “Itaewon” being the departure station and the second icon “Ichon” being the destination station) are actually reversible by clicking the “Reverse” button at the bottom of the screen or actually putting your finger on one of the icons and moving it manually using the touch screen.

Screen-shot of the train station times. Shows first and last departures and arrivals in addition to next train departure and arrival, bus transfer info, and exit info.

Information about each station such as platform location, lavatory (bathroom – particularly useful if you really need to go to the bathroom bad, even more useful if you need to go #2), exit door location.

All train departure and arrival times.

Map of the surrounding area of the subway stop including location of exits of the station.

Step 1: Get a WiMAX subscription with your Korean mobile phone company

Step 2: Get a wireless router for your WiMAX called an “egg”

Step 3: Get your iPhone or iPod Touch

Step 4: Get Skype

If you have a WiMAX subscription, you can get a router called an “egg,” manufactured by a company called Interbro (branded as Yota in Korea) to use with your iPhone or your iPod Touch. The “egg” turns into a WIFI hotspot, with speeds up to 4 megabits per second. The Egg’s battery lasts an impressive 5 hours, an hour longer than my MacBook. That is faster than most high speed cable connections anywhere in the world. KT has their WiBro service everywhere, including the subways.

KT offers 30 gigabytes of data transfer at speeds up to 4 megabits per second for $20 per month. This is a much, much better than Verizon Wireless’s similar offering in the US called MiFi for $60 for only 5 gigabytes of data transfer.

I currently use my iPhone everywhere here in Korea, and I also use Skype daily to make phone calls home to the US. I’ve used my Skype iPhone App on my iPhone, and it works great. Now you can use your Skype account to make phone calls anywhere in the world for CHEAP. I pay $30/year for a US-based phone number (you can also get a Korean phone number), and $10/month for unlimited phone calls anywhere in the world. Some countries are limited to just land-lines. Fortunately, there are no surcharges to mobile phones in the US and Canada.

There’s been talk for 3 years about the iPhone reaching the Korean shores. There’s a ridiculous amount of hype about it, but its still not here. For now, I’ve found my own band-aid fix to use my iPhone in Korea.

See Also:

How To Use Your iPhone in Korea Without Skype (Full Mobile Phone Capability)

Do Korean SIM cards work in the iPhone in Korea?

Why is the iPhone not in Korea?

iPhone 3G vs the 3GS

아이폰 나는 나의 iPhone 을 정말 좋아한다

Who are the major mobile carriers in Korea?

10 reasons why Korea needs the iPhone