Lessons from South Korea’s digital divide index (DDI)

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine South Korea’s digital divide policy and investigate how it Korea is one of the most networked countries in the world that has been addressing the digital divide issue since the inception of broadband. Design/methodology/approach – A secondary data analysis of the National Information Society Agency’s Digital Divide Index was conducted between 2003 and 2012. Findings – The differences in the changes in the access, skills and utilisation dimensions of the digital divide indicate that a second-level digital divide emerges as penetration increases. The gap in access has been minimised concurrently with the rapid adoption of broadband. Reduction of gaps in skills and effective uses has not followed accordingly. Social implications – Countries adopting broadband policies to achieve high connectivity can learn from this case and devise preventive policies that can overcome inequalities in skills and utilisation among digitally disadvantaged groups. Originality/value – By analysing longitudinal data, this study identified an emerging second-level digital divide in a country with high broadband penetration. This has significant implications for policies aiming to narrow the digital divide and that access, skills and utilisation issues should be addressed separately.