With overall bilateral relations going into a higher level day by day, Korea and Vietnam are cooperating in almost every aspect of economy and technology. Amid such an upbeat atmosphere, the Korean government and the National Information Society Agency (NIA) joined their Vietnamese counterparts, the Vietnamese government and the Post-Telecommunication Institute of Technology (PTIT), at the Korea-Vietnam Information Access Center (IAC), also known as Internet Plaza, in Hanoi on Oct. 22. There, they celebrated the linking of Korea and Vietnam via the Trans-Eurasia Information Network 3 (TEIN3).
TEIN is one of the new initiatives endorsed by ASEM 3, held in October 2000 in Seoul, to connect research networks between Asia and Europe by linking EU's GEANT, the pan-European gigabit research network, with Asia's research networks such as the APII Testbeds. This is done in order to promote information exchanges in research and development and education. Characteristically, PTIT is located within the Internet Plaza, which was built by Korea in 2003 to help the Vietnamese people narrow the information gap among themselves. Kim Seang-tae, the president of the NIA, a global leader in realizing a knowledge-based society, attended the event held in Hanoi.
Kim elaborated on TEIN3 and bilateral cooperation on a Digital Knowledge Belt in a recent interview.
Q: We understand that the Korean government and NIA celebrated the linking of Korea and Vietnam via TEIN3 in October. What was the meaning of such an event held in Hanoi
A: Korea first proposed establishment of TEIN at an ASEM 3 summit held in 2000 under the motto of Partnership for Prosperity and Stability. In 2001, Korea and France established a 2Mb TEIN network for the first time. In May this year, TEIN3 was opened in Seoul, signaling the start of a 25 Gb global super-speed research network linking about 10 Asian nations with some 30 European countries. We celebrated the linking of Korea and Vietnam through TEIN3 at the Internet Plaza in Hanoi at that time.
Q: What did the opening ceremony show to the audience that day
A: Images of a hepatectomy surgery process for a liver cancer patient held at the Seoul National University (SNU) Hospital in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, Korea were transmitted in real time to doctors at the 108 Hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam. Other doctors and Vietnamese ICT specialists were also watching them from the Internet Plaza.
Han Ho-sung, the chief surgeon at the Bundang SNU Hospital, explained to the Vietnamese doctors, and the demonstration continued a few minutes. Simple questions and answers, which didn’t have much impact on the ongoing surgery, were exchanged between Han and Vietnamese doctors. As it turned out, such state-of-the-art remote medical services were conducted in Vietnam, with ultra-high definition images of a surgery process transmitted, and questions and answers exchanged in real time, thanks to the linkage between Korea and Vietnam via TEIN3.
Besides, other images also showed a performance of “samulnori” (traditional Korean percussion quartet) from a traditional music hall in Daejeon, a presentation by Lee Young-ro, chief of NIA’s Digital Infrastructure Division, on IP-USN, and an introduction to USN-based weather data about the Vietnamese region.
Q: What was the background and meaning of the opening of Korea-Vietnam informatization cooperation belt
A: We decided to transfer our experience and expertise in Korea’s building of advanced IT infrastructure to Vietnam, which we had chosen as a base for an ASEAN informatization cooperation belt. That day’s ceremony was the start of a massive project to establish such a cooperation belt in the ASEAN region. However, the ceremony not only linked Korea and Vietnam through TEIN, but also started promotion of trial services of the “Korea-Vietnam digital knowledge belt.” In other words, it was a departure for upgrading the IAC to a “Digital Knowledge Center” (DKC).
Unlike the IAC, the DKC will be connected to an ultra-high speed Internet network, which can show real-time video conferences or demonstrations of surgery processes. For the DKC, we’re going to build a system in which it’ll be possible to download and learn from contents that introduce various kinds of knowledge and information, including Korea’s e-government policies, and Korean history and culture, anytime. All such contents will give the Vietnamese an easier access to Korea’s experience in building an advanced ICT infrastructure.
This is part of follow-up measures to implement President Lee Myung-bak’s “New Asia Initiative,” which he issued in March to strengthen cooperation with Asian nations, and a joint statement released at the Korea-ASEAN summit in June to promote regional cooperation in the ICT sector.
Accordingly, that day’s ceremony to “promote trial services for the Korea-Vietnam digital knowledge belt” carries great significance, given that the DKC was formally launched to play the role of a base for informatization cooperation between the two countries by linking the IAC to TEIN3 and establishing digital knowledge library services. The ceremony was all the more meaningful in that it was held almost right after President Lee’s recent visit to Vietnam and Korea Week, which started on Oct. 18.
Q: Under the government’s plan to streamline public agencies, the Korea Agency for Digital Opportunity & Promotion (KADO) was merged into the old National Information Society Agency, and the two agencies became one as the new NIA in May this year. As a result, the new NIA is supposed to fulfill a key role for informatization of the country. What plan do you have for the future operation of the DKC
A: That ceremony was the first example of synergy created by effectiveness of various projects of a new merged agency. Vietnam’s DKC is a facility built by KADO in 2003 in order to narrow global information gap. As of today, IACs have been built in 20 developing countries, including one that opened in Morocco in August and another that opened in Algeria in September.
IACs have now been connected to TEIN as part of the NIA’s key projects, paving the way for such centers to drastically improve their functions. Simply put, the old IACs merely functioned as places for the Internet use and informatization education. But with TEIN3, the ultra-high speed communication network, established, such centers now can provide various kinds of contents, including Korea’s e-government policies, and services, such as e-learning, remote video education and remote medical services. From the Vietnamese viewpoint, it became much easier for them to learn Korea’s advanced information and communication technologies, and other kinds of knowledge.
NIA plans to apply the Korea-Vietnam DKC model to other Asian nations, such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Laos, where IACs have already been established, thereby linking all Asia in one and single digital knowledge belt.
In the future, DKCs will fulfill a role as centers that distribute new information and communication technologies and knowledge resources through e-learning programs, and as cyber centers that publicize Korea’s national brand. In this way, such centers will enhance the country’s national image and brand in conformity with the status of Korea as the chair of G-20 summit scheduled for November 2010.
