Learn how to take advantage of one of the most connected countries in Asia.

According to a November 18, 2007 New York Times article titled "In Korea, a Boot Camp Cure for Web Obsession":

South Korea boasts of being the most wired nation on earth. In fact, perhaps no other country has so fully embraced the Internet. Ninety percent of homes connect to cheap, high-speed broadband, online gaming is a professional sport, and social life for the young revolves around the "PC bang," dim Internet parlors that sit on practically every street corner.

With an amazing statistic that 90 percent of the country is connected with 3G technology as well as nationwide coverage comparable to that of WIMAX, it is surprising that South Korea does not come up in conversation when discussing  the Internet's growth in emerging markets such as China and India. eMarketer estimates that in 2007 South Korea's Internet population reached 35.6 million users—nearly three out of every four citizens. Content delivery network Akamai, released its 2008 State of the Internet report which stated that South Koreans are three times as likely as Americans to have broadband connections.

One of the reasons for such rapid growth is the South Korean government's involvement in bringing broadband access to its people. Joop Dorrestejin, Contributing editor for the NextWeb.Org states, "the South Korean government introduced a number of policy instruments to stimulate technological learning, aimed to strengthen international competitiveness of the economy. The government launched a five-year plan to create a ubiquitous networked world in 1995, meaning that the country developed a stunning 1.5 billion dollar wireless network to stimulate the use of the Internet."

And it has paid off, as Korea is South Korea is the most connected country in the world.

It is evident that South Korea has a very promising future for online advertising opportunities as well as mobile marketing. Not only do the number of Internet and mobile users increase daily, but the many initiatives that are taking place to penetrate this market are incredible. With all the news focusing on China's lucrative internet opportunities, it would benefit marketers to start analyzing other countries in APAC.

Elizabeth Lloyd is co-founder and chief revenue officer, 9Global, Inc.