In Korea, E-mail is sooo passé

From Smart Mobs.

You thought email was the modern, hip way to speak to people, doing away with old fashioned snail mail? Not in Korea, where SMS, Internet Messengers and mini-homepages are the new instant communication method of choice.

The perception that "email is an old and formal communication means" is rapidly spreading among (young people). "I use email when I send messages to elders," said a college student by the name of Park. For 22-year-old office worker Kim, "I use email only for receiving cellphone and credit card invoices."

"The new generation hate agonizing and waiting and tend to express their feelings immediately," said Professor Lee. "The decline of email is a natural outcome reflecting such characteristics of the new generation."

Smart Mobs: New Forms of Online Communication Spell End of Email Era in Korea