The common wisdom among many Internet hands is that a glance at Korea will give one a good idea of what technology will look like in the United States in three to five years. I took more than a passing glance today. If what I saw is in store for use soon, prepare for technology that is both bigger and smaller, simpler and more complex, outlandishly wild and fiendishly simple Be prepared for the big U. Korea is the evangelist of the coming ubiquitous technology.
The living room of the future has a large screen -- but the image on it can be transferred to other screens in the house The living room of the future has a large screen -- but the image on it can be transferred to other screens in the house Our hosts at the OhMyNews International Citizen Reporters Forum loaded us into big buses today for a tour of Koreas technology centers. It was a combination of fact-finding for the citizen reporters and national pride for the citizens of Korea. First stop was the official show for Koreas high tech showcase, the ominously named Hall of Ubiquitous Dreams. I was expecting some sort of eastern mystic tourist trap ala House of Flying Daggers. But while there were indeed enough special effects to impress even jaded movie goers, this was not fantasy fiction. Korea, as Minister of Information and Communication Chin Dae Je later explained to us, has adopted an aggressive technology policy based on the term ubiquitous or present everywhere. The goal is to so thoroughly integrate technology into everyday life that using it becomes like breathing or eating.
It's a watch --- no it's a PC It's a watch --- no it's a PC The hall was spectacular. Room after room was littered with computeer screens  but screens you would hardly recognize. That framed classic painting on the wall could be switched to a modern art masterpiece in seconds  our could display the latest news or and incoming e-mail after hearing a brief voice command. The panel on the refrigerator kept track of grocery orders. Head too foggy from last nights party to think of technology? Lay a hand on that full length mirror in the bedroom and it gives you the weather report. Then grab a shirt from the closet and the mirror not only tells you if it appropriate for the weather, but what slacks and tie from your closet will match. It was GrrAnimals in Hyperspace. My favorite gizmo, though, was an ordinary-looking bulletin board in the kitchen. Because mail and other documents in Korea are increasingly laced with RF data chips, you could thumbtack a junk-mail letter to the board and it would read it and even offer a response without ever breaking the envelope seal. Much of the technology displayed was designed to bring people together verbally, visually and emotionally even though they were miles  er, kilometers -- apart. Our cyber host (a physician) helped his daugter in the United States with her college anatomy homework, then interrupted a meeting to remotely help with an emergency heart surgery. In the ubiquitous world of this Korean dream, distance is meaningless., Between the exhibits at the hall and those at the stunning Samsung Electronics museum and demonstration center, I found my head spinning with technology that was either in early marketing stages or less than three years from the shelf: -- A Human Body Communication system allows two business folk carrying PDAs to exchange personal information with a simple handshake. Hold the PDA in your left hand, shake with the right and the information is transferred through your skin.
This waiter wants no tip, just an occasional charge. This waiter wants no tip, just an occasional charge. -- Ann 80-inch flat screen television filled a whole wall with amazingly sharp, life-sized video. == The top accessory for a line of high-capacity computers about to come out is a wrist strap. They are only slightly larger than a Rolex but do a lot more than tick. -- New cell phones have high-quality cameras built in. We saw a 5 megapixel version, but a 7 megapixel camera phone has been announced. But forget the pixel count. One phone had a built in optical zoom lens of such high quality that you couldnt really tell it from a non-phone camera. And, of course, there was this cute little orange robot who waited tables at the corner café. I dont care if he spilled the drinks. I want that droid. None of this is new, of course. I read about ubiquitous technology decades ago in the novels of Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asminov and Robert Heinlein. But back then, I was accused of being a little geek who was wasting his time on science fiction. Turns out I was just studying in advance. Comments Only registered users can write comments.
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OhmyNews founder Oh Yeon Ho welcomed citizen reporters on Thursday.
 More than 300 "citizen reporters" hailing from countries as far apart as Chile and Norway are coming together at the OhmyNews International Citizen Reporters' Forum from June 23 to June 26, 2005 in Seoul.  is one of the most popular South Korean news websites, and it has played an important role in the election of reformist President Roh Moo-hyun. Unlike traditional news sources, OhmyNews allows any individual with an Internet connection to contribute stories. A professional staff of journalists vets incoming submissions and decides which stories are to be published.

The project is sponsoring the forum in order to promote its English edition, officially launched in May 2004. Citizen reporters writing in English exchange ideas and stories, and try to understand the inner workings of the Korean edition. The conference is sponsored by Korean corporations such as Samsung, SK Corporation, LG, Yuhan-Kimberly, and Asiana Airlines.

OhmyNews citizen reporters holding their national flags in a ceremony on Friday evening.