Speed and digital technology in Korea's fight against COVID-19

I've commented frequently over the years on the importance of speed in digital networks.  Speed can refer to download speeds on mobile or fiber optic networks, processing speed in computers, mobile phones and data centers, and so forth.  Korea today possesses some of the world's fastest digital networks and has built e-government and big data while using these networks.  The speed of networks and data processing here has proven to be a significant advantage for Korea in fighting COVID-19.   The Korea Times, in collaboration with The Korea Foundation, is publishing a five part series on Korea's response to the Covid pandemic.  The latest installment, entitled "Korea's ICT, AI, Biotech shine in virus crisis" makes it clear that fast, state-of-the-art digital technologies are a key enabler of fast contract tracing, public education and related efforts to contain the virus.

QR code innovation in Korea's battle against Covid-19

Korea has recently expanded the use of QR codes in its multi-pronged use of digital technologies to combat Covid-19.  The Asia Times has an excellent article by Andrew Salmon explaining and placing in context this nationwide deployment of a QR-code system.

Korea's lead in 5G adoption

This Statista graphic (click for a full size version) based on GSMA Intelligence caught my eye.   If the projection to 2025 proves accurate, it has major implications for this country's future advancement in smart cities, smart factories, Iot, tele-health, autonomous vehicles, AI and education, just to name a few of the areas that will depend on a functioning nationwide 5G network.