In this blog post, we’ll examine how mobile communications in South Korea has evolved—from car phones through 1G analog mobile communications, 2G CDMA, 3G, and 4G LTE to today’s 5G.

The Evolution of Mobile Communications That Ushered in the Smartphone Era

Just a few years ago, Apple and Samsung Electronics were locked in a fierce legal battle over smartphone technology and design. Since smartphones were among each company’s core products and were already in widespread daily use, this competition held immense significance for both companies. As such, mobile communications—that is, cell phones—have become an integral part of our lives that is hard to do without. People today find it extremely inconvenient to live without a cell phone and naturally grab it whenever they go out. We call the 21st century the “age of technology,” and in keeping with that, countless new technologies have emerged and evolved. In step with the rapidly changing trends of society, mobile communication technology has also evolved rapidly. Beyond the convenience of communication and the design of devices, data transmission speeds and the availability of diverse services have become key factors. As these changes continued, mobile communication progressed from 4G to 5G and is now evolving beyond simply fast communication toward connecting a wide range of devices and services. A period that felt both short and long has passed since then, and mobile communication technology has undergone various transformations over the years. The history of mobile communications in South Korea clearly illustrates how technology and services have evolved as the industry progressed from 1G to 2G, 3G, 4G LTE, and finally to 5G.

How did 1G mobile communications begin?

1G mobile communications refers to the analog era, when users could make voice calls only while on the move. The starting point for South Korea’s mobile communications was the car phone service introduced by Korea Mobile Communications in 1984. Korea Mobile Communications—the predecessor of today’s SK Telecom—launched this car phone service in 1984, marking the official beginning of South Korea’s mobile communications history. As the name suggests, this service involved installing a telephone in a vehicle to enable voice calls while on the move.
However, unlike today, not everyone could install and use a car phone at that time. The main reason was the extremely high cost. Considering the price levels of the era, car phones were expensive products that ordinary people could not easily afford, and for this reason, they were often viewed as a symbol of wealth. It was perceived not only as a practical means of communication but also as a way to demonstrate one’s financial status. Later, starting in the late 1980s, as the adoption of mobile phones expanded in earnest, portable handsets emerged, and the number of subscribers—primarily for voice calls—grew steadily. First-generation mobile communications gradually declined with the advent of second-generation digital mobile communications, and in South Korea, it effectively came to an end in 1999 with the termination of analog mobile services.

How did second-generation mobile communications usher in the digital age?

Second-generation digital mobile communications expanded the scope of mobile communications by enabling not only voice calls but also data transmission, such as text messages. South Korea chose the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) system, developed in the United States, over Europe’s GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) standard, and successfully launched commercial CDMA services in 1996, officially ushering in the era of digital mobile communications. At the time, Korea Mobile Communications’ launch of the world’s first commercial CDMA service marked a significant turning point in the history of South Korea’s mobile communications.
With the transition to 2G, call quality and network capacity improved compared to the analog systems of the first generation, and the size of mobile phones decreased significantly. Unlike the large, heavy handsets of previous generations, the advent of compact mobile phones that could fit in one hand meant that mobile phones gradually evolved from expensive communication devices used only by certain segments of the population into everyday consumer goods. Furthermore, unlike the 1G era, where a single operator held a virtual monopoly, the entry of multiple mobile carriers into the market spurred fierce competition, leading to the rapid expansion of CDMA adoption. As competition intensified, fierce rivalry emerged not only over pricing but also regarding the size, design, and features of mobile phones.

How did 3G mobile communications evolve into the multimedia era?

The 3G era marked a shift beyond voice calls and text messages to enable non-voice data transmission, such as video calls and access to multimedia content. By this time, mobile phones had evolved beyond simple devices for making calls and sending text messages into devices capable of sharing photos and music and accessing data services such as the Internet. While different mobile communication standards were used depending on the country and region up through the second generation, the third generation saw the international standardization of mobile communication technology centered on IMT-2000 (International Mobile Telecommunications), an international mobile communication standard.
Third-generation mobile communications utilized CDMA-based technologies and WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), among others. As data transmission speeds increased, it became fully feasible to access the internet via mobile phones. In particular, the emergence of technologies such as HSDPA enabled even faster data transmission while on the move, paving the way for users to access a wide variety of multimedia content—including videos and music—on their mobile phones. Another technology that emerged during the 3G era was WiBro. WiBro is a mobile wireless high-speed Internet technology developed and commercialized primarily by South Korea. Although it is not the same technology as simple wireless Internet services like Wi-Fi, it garnered significant attention at the time for offering wireless Internet with mobility. Thus, the third generation marked the period when mobile phones evolved from voice-call-centric devices into devices capable of accessing the internet and multimedia services, effectively ushering in the full-fledged era of multimedia mobile communications.

How did 4G LTE increase mobile communication speeds?

The most significant feature of 4G mobile communications is the improvement in data transmission speeds. With data communication becoming much faster than in 3G, services such as internet searches, video streaming, and app usage on smartphones became much more seamless. IMT-Advanced, the ITU’s 4G mobile communication standard, set a target of maximum data transmission speeds of 100 Mbps in high-speed mobile environments and 1 Gbps in low-speed or stationary environments. However, LTE—commonly referred to as 4G—was not officially recognized as an IMT-Advanced 4G technology from the outset. The ITU recognized LTE-Advanced as the official 4G technology corresponding to IMT-Advanced, while LTE, as an earlier-stage technology, was widely referred to as 4G.
In South Korea, the launch of LTE services in 2011 accelerated the shift toward data-centric mobile communications. Since then, with the emergence of technologies such as LTE-Advanced, data transmission speeds and network performance have continued to improve. As smartphones capable of utilizing LTE networks rapidly became widespread, mobile phones evolved beyond simple communication devices to effectively function as computers in the palm of one’s hand. Whereas call quality, phone size, and design were the primary competitive factors in the past, in the LTE era, internet connection speeds, data services, and the seamless usability of various applications became key competitive factors.

How far has mobile communications advanced in the 5G era?

At the time this article was written, 4G LTE was established as the latest mobile communication technology, but it has now been several years since 5G, the fifth-generation mobile communication standard, was commercialized. In South Korea, mobile communications entered a new phase with the launch of commercial 5G services in 2019.
5G does not merely provide faster communication than 4G; it aims to deliver ultra-high-speed data communication, low latency, and a network environment capable of connecting numerous devices simultaneously. Through IMT-2020, which corresponds to 5G, the ITU has outlined enhanced data transmission capabilities and connection density compared to existing mobile communication technologies.
Although the history of mobile communications spans only a few decades, the scale of its transformation has been immense. It began with large, heavy first-generation analog cell phones that could not fit in one hand, progressed through second-generation technology offering digital voice calls and text messaging, third-generation technology enabling internet and multimedia services, and fourth-generation LTE, which ushered in high-speed data communication, and has now evolved into 5G. Humanity’s social desire to share information and interact with others anytime, anywhere has driven the advancement of mobile communication technology. Mobile phones have now evolved beyond being mere tools for providing communication services to become means of connecting people to one another, people to information, and various devices. This is precisely why we are curious to see in which direction future mobile communication technology will take even more radical strides.