Get on a bus or subway, and have a look around. What do you see? I assume you would notice everyone focused on their phones, watching short clips of videos or reading web comics. These days, most people in Korea use smartphones everywhere and at any time. As a result, it has finally become a part of the culture and has even received its own term of “Snack Culture.” This term figuratively describes this cultural activity through the characteristics of a snack: small and easily reachable.

The popularity of this so-called “Snack Culture” has also newly widened the application market with many people founding companies that only focus on certain types of mobile content. It is even affecting mainstream broadcasting companies, forcing them to change their strategies to adhere to the elements of the Snack Culture.

However, since this is a trend that has grown dramatically through technological improvement, it still has some challenges to overcome. For example, there are no exact regulations on these contents, and there is a certain opaqueness regarding any regular profits.

Did you ever think about these aspects or points of view while using your smartphones to watch web dramas or web comics? Many of us just consume this media like using disposable products, without any deeper thoughts about why and how it became a part of our public culture.

In the October issue, The Argus features insight into the Snack Culture, different aspects of it, how popular and common it is in the real world, and how it is affecting the mainstream culture. Not only this, The Argus also looked deeply into why this culture became common and what are the challenges it has to overcome.
I hope The Argus readers will get a chance to think and know about the Snack Culture by reading this article before they consume any more of it.

By Byeon Hee-jin
Editor-in-Chief