Paper use rises despite digital age

Like other developed nations, Korea has shown an increase in paper consumption despite the development and widespread usage of computers and the Internet.

The current reality flies in the face of predictions by futurists, who have claimed that with the proliferation of computers and the Internet, society will see a future of paperless offices and a decrease in paper consumption.

"This year¡¯s paper consumption for the first half recorded 3.34 million tons,¡± a researcher at the Hyundai Economic Research Institute said on September 6 in a report titled, "Digital Age and Paper Consumption. ¡°In comparison to last year¡¯s consumption of 2.96 million tons for the same period, it is an increase of 12.8%. Paper consumption decreased during the foreign currency crisis, but with the economic recovery came the diffusion of the Internet and an increase in paper consumption."

Domestic paper consumption rose annually after the 1970s and recorded its highest level in 1997 at 6.9 million tons. During the foreign currency crisis in 1998, consumption dropped to 5.27 million tons. However, with the economic recovery in 1999, consumption rebounded to 6.7 million tons, and this year will record another high.

There have been reports in the United States that paper consumption was on the rise toward the end of the 1990s, which heralded the digital age. However, due to the foreign currency crisis in Korea, the actual causal relationship between computers, the Internet and paper consumption was hard to gauge.

Lee Byong-Ki eye@donga.com