significant progress in telecommunications occurred. The government improved basic communications facilities by connecting rural areas by phone and by creating training centers for telecommunication employees to keep the phone lines running smoothly. Telephone subscriber lines increased to 4.1 million lines offering 8.4 phones per 100 people. More importantly, long-distance telephone calling circuits were boosted from 1,177 to 88,571 circuits, while international calling circuits were increased from 12 to 274 (Lee, et. al 2). During this period, the government installed the micro-wave network in 1967 and the scatter transmission network between Japan and Korea in 1968. The first two satellite earth stations were built during this period. In addition, a coaxial cable was installed to bring an automatic telephone call service between major cities. In 1979, the electronic switching system (ESS) was introduced to aid with the increasing number of phone subscriptions.The third stage, occurring from 1982 to the present, illustrates a huge and dynamic change in the telecommunications industry. First, in 1982 to 1986 an addition of 6.2 telephone lines were installed. Within this period, the participation of Korea in the Asian Games and the 1988 Olympics placed telecommunications at a high demand. With the 10th Asian Games in 1986, an integrated automatic switching system was introduced. The capability to install telephones immediately upon request became available. The 1988 Olympics brought the idea of launching Korea's own satellite in mind. Although a satellite was not launched during this period, it made the idea more of a future plan.Government Policies and Telecommunication CompaniesThe development of Korea's information society cannot be separated from the development of the Korean government policies. This is because all telecommunication sources were once controlled by the Korean government. Then as years went on, the go...
