TV sets a turn-off for South Korea's youth

By Jon Herskovitz and Jessica Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean university student Seong-sun is a rebel without a TV. Like other twentysomethings in tech-friendly parts of the world, Seong-sun, 27, uses his laptop to watch user-generated content and can see programming on his mobile phone.

But, in South Korea, peer-to-peer video services have exploded. His laptop is his entertainment gateway. The Internet is the distribution platform of choice and the content at his fingertips is a dizzying array of pirated TV shows and movies.

Seong-sun pays a small subscription fee to an Internet service that allows him to download thousands of movies, including Hollywood films not yet released in South Korea.

He can also receive TV shows such as "American Idol," complete with Korean subtitles, less than 24 hours after airing.

Lax enforcement of copyright laws and South Korea's high broadband penetration rate have helped fuel the popularity of these services.

"So many people do this that I'm not scared of getting caught. Everyone else thinks the same thing, too," Seong-sun said.

He asked not to have his family name used so that prosecutors would not go after him for one of their few showcase investigations.

HUGE LIBRARY

User-generated content sites such as "ipop" (www.ipop.co.kr) have clubs where users can pay by the download or pony up monthly subscription fees of about 10,000 won to 20,000 won ($11 to $22) that will let them tap into a huge library of U.S., Japanese, Chinese and Korean TV programming and movies.

One of the most popular peer-to-peer clubs, Mansal, has had nearly 50 million visitors. While many are repeaters, the total is still almost equal to the country's population.

"I like to download stuff because I don't have to wait to watch something" Seong-sun said.

The clubs make money from subscription fees and advertising. Young professionals with little time to spare and students with an abundance of time to search for material are the main clients for these services -- making cable TV and TV sets obsolete.

The clubs often obtain content from Koreans living abroad who upload movies. They also upload TV programming within hours after it airs and translate it.

The clubs have helped to make shows such as "Prison Break" and "Ugly Betty" hits first among Internet users. Cable companies later picked up local broadcasting rights.

South Korea this year stepped up penalties for those who violate copyright laws by downloading pirated material, but that has had almost no effect.