People say "global standard" when talking about worldwide benchmarks. A standard means a "norm." A standard is a promise that spans the economy, industry, and technology. Technological advances can create the need for a "standard," but a single standard can also drive a leap akin to a revolution. Based on a survey of experts from industry, academia, research, and media, the National Institute of Technology and Standards and ChosunBiz selected the "top 10 standards that changed the world" and the "top 10 standards that changed the lives and economy of Koreans," and reexamine the role of standards. [Editor's note]
The year 1980, when color TV was first introduced in Korea, was the first year since records began that the Korean economy posted negative growth (-5.2%). After years of double-digit growth led by heavy and chemical industries, the economy hit a crisis as political instability following the death of former President Park Chung-hee overlapped with the second oil shock. As one of the measures to overcome the economic crisis, the government allowed color TV broadcasting and domestic sales.
Korean corporations had already been capable of producing color TVs since 1974. In 1978, Samsung Electronics and GoldStar (now LG Electronics) were also reported to have exported 500,000 color TV sets. However, the government banned color TV broadcasting and domestic sales, saying the high-priced sets could create class divisions and that electricity was in short supply. In 1977, color programming began on AFKN (American Forces Korea Network) for U.S. troops stationed in Korea, but domestic viewers did not get to see full-color screens until three years later.
The government adopted NTSC (National Television System Committee), developed in the United States, as the color TV broadcasting system. Europe at the time used PAL (Phase Alternation by Line), and France used SECAM (sequential color with memory). NTSC's greatest advantage, unlike PAL and SECAM, is that viewers could watch color broadcasts on existing black-and-white TVs. The government also considered that 70% of the world's color TV stations, including those in the United States, Japan, Taiwan, and Mexico, had adopted NTSC. The judgment was that using a broadcasting system adopted by many countries would be advantageous for exports.
The advent of the color TV era injected vitality into the Korean economy. By July 1981, six months after color TV sales were permitted, more than 1 million sets had been distributed domestically. Spurred by the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Korean-made color TVs began to be exported to countries around the world. In 1990, color TVs overtook radio-cassette players to become the top export item in home appliances. They held the No. 1 export spot for more than a decade until the early 2000s, when refrigerators took over. From 1981 to 1988, the Korean economy recorded a remarkable average annual growth rate of 10.4%.