Column Computer United, The Republic of <strong>Korea</strong> ByChoiSeong (sstar@nsu.ac.kr) Dr. Choi Seong, Professor of Computer Science at Namseoul University As the separation of the division between the North and South <strong>Korea</strong> is becoming more firm, their everyday language and even the technical languages are becoming more different every day. Language is important in suggesting actions, so it is important to organize a unification of languages between the people of North and South <strong>Korea</strong>. Especially the rapidly changing <strong>IT</strong> language which is very different in each country. In this sense, it is preferable that the North and South scholars are contacting each other, such as opening seminars regarding the unification of the <strong>IT</strong> language. Pondering and solving such problems in everyday lives, together, can also speed up the unification. The most important thing in the <strong>IT</strong> area is the unification of the basic keyboard to enter data into the computer. The most crucial thing in character management in the computers is the typing characters. There was a technology called the "mechanization of <strong>Korea</strong>n" in the typewriter era. A representative example is the <strong>Korea</strong>n typewriter that copied the mechanical shapes of English typewriters in the 1950s. From the invention of such <strong>Korea</strong>n typewriters, many people have been experiencing the battles between the 2 rows, 3 rows, or the 4 rows arrangements for about 30 years. That is because the keyboard arrangement or the entering technology is that important. However, North <strong>Korea</strong> is showing much effort in developing <strong>IT</strong> personnel to advance the <strong>IT</strong> industry. What is the computer keyboard that is used in North <strong>Korea</strong> that is dreaming of the huge leap in the <strong>IT</strong> industry? First, the arrangement is different. In North <strong>Korea</strong>, the computer keyboard is normally called a keyboard. North and South <strong>Korea</strong> both use the 2 row systems that do not distinguish between the initial sounds and the last sound and the consonants are on the left side and the vowels are on the right side. However, the alphabet arrangement is different from South <strong>Korea</strong>'s. The reason the alphabet arrangements are different is because North <strong>Korea</strong> does not apply the rules regarding the initial sound of the syllable and use the consonants, such as the L and N quite often and have placed these consonants in the middle. The cause is the difference between the languages of the South and the North <strong>Korea</strong>. Also, in the arrangement order, South <strong>Korea</strong> generally organizes them in the orders of the shape of the characters but North <strong>Korea</strong> is using the phonetic value orders. The shape of the North <strong>Korea</strong>n keyboard according to the national criteria (KPS) was compared with the South <strong>Korea</strong>n keyboard in the figure. North <strong>Korea</strong> has established the "Morning- Panther Computer cooperative company" to assemble and sell the computers, but because of the low hardware production, majority of the keyboards are foreignmade. Therefore, the majority of the keyboards used have the English alphabets but the <strong>Korea</strong>n alphabets are not shown on the keyboard. Therefore, most of the computer users are using the keyboard by memorizing the order. Just like when we prepared for the music test by drawing the piano keyboard onto a piece of paper because there were very few pianos, the North <strong>Korea</strong>n students practice their typing by drawing the keyboard on the pieces of paper. Also, on the North <strong>Korea</strong>n keyboard, there is no <strong>Korea</strong>n/ English converting key or a Chinese character converting key. If we were to achieve unification unexpectedly, it becomes a serious problem when computer keyboards are not unified between North and the South <strong>Korea</strong>. If the language and the entering system are different, then it can cause chaos, just like we experienced in the earlier stages of computer distribution. A scientific arrangement and education of the computer keyboards are an important basic technology in the <strong>IT</strong> era. Therefore, the <strong>Korea</strong>n Language Information Association and the North <strong>Korea</strong>n Language Association and Chinese <strong>Korea</strong>n Language Associations have been carrying out much interaction and cooperation with the linguists and information technology experts to establish the standards of <strong>Korea</strong>n arrangement and a unified keyboard since the mid-90s. However, the keyboard and entering codes have not been established as a national standard for the whole of <strong>Korea</strong>. We need continuous exchange, conversations and cooperation among the South, North and the Chinese (Chosun people) more than before. It would be preferable to distribute the <strong>Korea</strong>n computer unified keyboard under the agreement of the <strong>Korea</strong>n <strong>IT</strong> scholars in South, North and the Chinese (Chosun) <strong>Korea</strong>. Also, if possible, hosting a South, North and Chinese "<strong>Korea</strong>n unified computer keyboard competition" is a solution to unify the alienated language cultures. 64 KOREA <strong>IT</strong> TIMES | July <strong>2010</strong>
The Future “ is Calling New Ideas.. New Challenges.. It's the future. ” <strong>Korea</strong>'s Leading Bank 26 million customers, KRW 259 trillion (as of Mar. 31, <strong>2010</strong>) in total assets and the only commercial bank in <strong>Korea</strong> to acquire same credit ratings with sovereign by all three major global credit rating agencies Kookmin Bank wishes the <strong>2010</strong> G20 Summit great success. Incheon Bridge KRW 783 Billion Project Financing Mandated Lead Arrangers
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