70% of Korean students get info thru Internet

Seven out of 10 youngsters in Korea obtain information through the Internet, and boys are more likely than girls to utilize the Internet more earnestly.

According to a report complied by OriCom, an advertising company, with questionnaires to 900 middle and high school students, Internet-ready computers have reached the distribution rate of 79.4%, meaning eight out of 10 students owned Internet-ready computers.

In addition, the rate of Internet use reached 74.2%, symbolically equaling the familiarity of the older generation with the television or the telephone.

However, the rate of ownership and Internet use recorded a dividing line between boys and girls of about 5.1% and 5.3%, respectively.

Boys are more familiar and log in greater hours on the Internet than girls.

The time spent in front of the computer was longer for middle school students than for both high school and elementary school students.

According to the analysis, elementary school students are not very familiar yet with the Internet, while high school students are too busy preparing for university entrance exams.

The hours in front of the computer increase 40% during the weekend when the hours studying decrease.

Among students, 69.8% use computers at home, 21.7% at PC rooms, and 4.2% at friends' homes. The purpose of the computer use was highest for games and entertainment (83.9%), followed by information gathering (45.2%) and chatting (21.3%). According to the report, boys preferred games, while girls preferred chatting.