NY Times: Silicon Valley should learn from Seoul

Seoul is a rival of Silicon Valley.

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The New York Times spoke highly of Seouls advanced WiFi infrastructure, diverse mobile application services, and venture and startup business models.

In a report entitled "What Silicon Valley Can Learn from Seoul" on Thursday, the U.S. daily described Seoul as "crystal ball that showcases the direction Silicon Valley should move in", as it introduced in details Seouls information, communication and technology infrastructure (ICT) and business ecosystems. It added, While Silicon Valley is the largest and most enduring locus of tech innovation, a number of cities around the planet are nipping at its heels: Tel Aviv, Berlin, Bangalore. But Seoul, the capital of South Korea, is in a sense the Valleys closest rival.

Mike Kim moved to "Baedal Minjok", an application for food delivery service, after working at an IT company in Silicon Valley. Kim told the New York Times, When I was in San Francisco, we called it the mobile capital of the world. But I was blown away because Korea is three or four years ahead. In Seoul, even subway straphangers can stream movies on their phones, deep beneath the ground, adding, When I go back to the U.S., it feels like the Dark Ages.

The newspaper also introduced in details the story that the global ICT giant Google established its first Google Campus in Asia in Seoul, and gave a positive outlook on the potential of Koreas future growth. It stressed that Silicon Valley has a lot to learn from Korean ventures, citing Coupon that provides one-hour delivery of foodstuffs, going beyond same day delivery service.