Korean Internet Tour Guide is an attempt to examine the history of Korean internet from the points of view of both users and producers as well as insiders and observers. Korean Internet Tour Guide is a collection of moments in which diverse social elements such as technological conditions, users, work style, and political and economic interests have contributed in shaping the country’s internet; these moments center around software interfaces that people used to access the internet and participate in its production. Such technological-cultural pursuit begins with two interface software particular to the Korean context, ActiveX and Zeroboard. Multi-layered moments that span across design processes, the producer’s intention, user experience, protocol-related decision-making on the protocol, knowledge/opinion production and distribution may provide an overview of what the Korean internet has been; alternately, these moments may reveal a peculiar landscape through the chasm that appears when the intended design does not match real usage. This list is at once a database of loosely structured diverse information and a selective archive—it results in a kind of Tour Guide that holds varied vantage points from A (ActiveX) to Z (Zeroboard).
Korean Internet Tour Guide suggests that we reflect on our fast-changing media environment, while anticipating new methods and dialogues for exploring future directions. Korean Internet Tour Guide consists of a website, booklet, and two related programs. The website includes a list of “tourist attractions” collected from the Korean internet, along with related essays. Selected content from the website is published as a book and displayed at the Biennale.
