The wide availability of both ethernet and wireless Internet offers easy access to online news at little or no cost. Online news articles are free of charge on both Internet portals and newspaper websites, and most television news programmes are also streamed free of charge on broadcaster websites and YouTube. Since much of online news content is consumed on mobile devices, phone bill expenses are an important factor to consider. 67 per cent of people spend between KRW 30,000–60,000 on average on their smartphone plans.
Monthly subscriptions for print general dailies cost about KRW 20,000 and are tax-deductible. The monthly reception fee for KBS television channels amounts to KRW 2,500, which can, should one choose to, be waived. Cable, satellite, and IPTV subscriptions vary across different package plans from different telecommunication companies, but range from about KRW 12,000–40,000 and are offered as package plans with mobile plans for smartphone use, often offered at a lower cost. These expenses should be contextualised against the average monthly income of KRW 2,970,000 in 2018.
