The Dream Home Network: “Not Just a Dream”

Watch the newest theatrical releases on your home theater in the comfort of your living room. Keep an eye on your home anytime, from anywhere, through cameras installed in every corner. A sudden emergency? Send quick text messages to your family’s mobile phones with a remote control.

A commercial home network service, which goes into effect on June 11, will let you do all of these things.

KT Corp. announced on June 10 that it will begin providing HomeN (www.homen.co.kr), the world’s first high speed internet-based home network service, in 17 areas around Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, including Yongsan, Gwanak, Suseo, and Goyang.

In September, the service will be expanded to 39 areas around the country.

SK Telecom Consortium is currently conducting test runs for the groundbreaking home network service in Seoul and Busan.

Just How Convenient Will It Be?—

With HomeN, visiting the local video store becomes a thing of the past. Your television set is connected to the high speed internet and lets you enjoy the newest movies, TV shows, and animated programs when you want, with the clarity and sound quality of a DVD.

KT plans to update the video content provided through HomeN at the rate of 300 programs a week.

The “Home Viewer” function allows you to watch over your home through the internet, with the help of security cameras installed in various spots around the house or apartment. This means that you could keep an eye on your young child from work, or make sure your home hasn’t been burgled while on vacation.

The television may also be used to search for regional information, like the local news or the store directory for a nearby shopping center. Both the remote control and wireless keyboard let you send text messages to mobile phones. If you have a preset message stored, pressing the emergency button on the remote control will automatically send the message to each member of your family.

How Does It Work?—

HomeN combines communication and broadcasting, by linking the high speed internet to your home TV.

You can use HomeN if you’re signed up for KT’s high speed internet. The price of the service includes the installation fee and the cost for the specialized equipment.

The installation fee is 24,000 won for new subscribers. For existing KT customers, the price varies from 11,000 won (wireless home LAN users) to 16,000 won.

The key piece of equipment, Home Gateway, connects your TV to the high speed internet, and costs 320,000 to 420,000 won depending on the functions included. If you want to use the on-demand video and “Home Viewer” functions, you need to pay an additional monthly fee of 16,000 and 4,000 won respectively.

The head of KT’s marketing and planning department, Choi Mun-kee, said, “Starting next year, home appliances management, as well as the remote control and inspection of gas, electricity, and water, will also be available to subscribers nationwide.”

Tae-Han Kim freewill@donga.com