KT says farewell to telegraph after a century of service

KT Corp., a leading South Korean telecom company, will end its telegraph service, once the fastest means of long-distance communication, after the country introduced the messaging service 138 years ago.

KT said on its website last week it would end the service on Dec. 15 due to the accumulated losses from the operation, which has given way to email and mobile phones since the 1990s.

The country's second-largest mobile carrier already terminated its international telegram service in April 2018.

“We can no longer provide the service due to the rapid decrease in telegram usage and its accumulated losses,” said a KT official.

Since the 2010s, the telegraph has been used mainly to send congratulatory messages.

A telegraph is a transcription sent over wire using Morse code to a receiving station, where it is typed out on paper and delivered to the recipient.

It served as a key means of long-distance communication in the 19th and 20th centuries when it was faster than postal mail.

To lower the cost of sending a telegraph, the message is abbreviated, excluding pronouns or adjectives.

In Korea, it was introduced in 1885 during the late Joseon Dynasty. After the liberation from Japanese occupation in 1945, the state-run Korea Post and KT have been operating telegraph services.

Signs of telegram services being shut down are evident around the world.

Western Union, a global money transfer platform, ended its telegram service in 2006, and Germany's Deutsche Post discontinued it this past January.

However, an alternative to KT's telegraph remains for some services.

Korea Post continues to send congratulatory and condolence cards similar to telegram messages, alongside money wire transfers for special occasions.

Write to Seung-Woo Lee at leeswoo@hankyung.com
 

Yeonhee Kim edited this article