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On a day when Google launched Gmail Motion and LinkedIn was offering to connect users with “activist/chief fundraiser at Nottingham” Robin Hood, Korean websites were engaging in April Fools’ waggery of their own.

In a gag somewhat similar to LinkedIn’s, Cyworld users opened their accounts to discover friend invites from the likes of 2PM star Nichkhun and 아이유. Clicking on these “friends,” alas, led to nothing more exciting than an invitation to a Cyworld music festival. Cyworld also changed its name to 쵸재깅 (chojaeging) for the day, using the nickname that appears if you attempt to type “Cyworld” in English with the hangeul text left on.

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Here comes factory-unlocked iPad sold directly by Apple Korea! Apple Korea suddenly started selling the iPad WiFi+3G model in Korea. This event is going to affect not only customers who are already iPad 3G owners, but also KT since they just started selling the iPad with a 2-year contract.

Since the iPad 3G is factory-unlocked, people in Korea can use SKT or KT for a carrier. Furthermore, people can request to use their iPad with their OPMD (One Person Multi Device, 3,000 won per month) data plans that they already use with their current smartphones.

Because of this surprise from Apple, a lot of people are mad at both Apple and KT since people who already bought the iPad 3G via KT didn’t know this was going to happen.

If current SKT or KT users want to use the iPad 3G, it’s much better to just buy a factory-unlocked iPad 3G from the Apple Store and link it to an OPMD. However, KT’s data plan for the iPad still works for some; therefore, before trying to buy an iPad, people have to compare the two options (OPMD or KT) to see which is the better choice.

You can see more of Kyeung Bum’s posts at his blog, iAppBox

After having a think about the direction of this blog, I’ve come to some conclusions:

1) For it to be worthwhile, I need to update it more often and give it a more distinct identity.

2) For me to do that, I need to come up with stuff that perhaps isn’t covered in such depth elsewhere.

3) Given my increasing professional and personal interest in all things social media and tech-related,  why not produce more content about those things?

So, in an experiment starting from today, I’m going to try and post (along with all the other not-so-regular gubbins) regular updates summarising stuff from a few Korean-language sites covering social media and tech issues. There are some undoubted challenges in doing this, not least my still far-from-perfect knowledge of Korean and the tech industry. For these reasons, I would be delighted to hear any (constructive) feedback on mistakes I make. However, I’ll give it a go and see if I have the stamina to get up early a few times a week and post about three or four big stories.

So, without any further ado, here are a few choice bits for today:

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Finally. After weeks of research and prevaricating, I finally bought my first smartphone yesterday. And what a thing of beauty it is. It may “only” be a 9000 edition BlackBerry Bold, but despite its being second-hand, it’s just four months old, has not a single scratch on it and gleams like a lovely new toy.

In the course of finding this beaut, I became a minor expert in navigating the sometimes tricky waters of buying a smartphone in Korea. Because of this, I thought it might make sense to write down what I found out and share it with any confused, smartphone-seeking expats who might stray onto this site.

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