South Korea's internet speed, which was once at the highest level in the world, has been shown to lag behind Vietnam and Thailand. While mobile internet ranked 6th in the world, wired internet languished at 22nd.

Behind Even Vietnam and Thailand… South Korea's Wired Internet Speed '22nd', Seoul '34th'

According to the "Speedtest Global Index" released on the 13th by the global internet speed testing firm Ookla, the median download speed for wired internet in South Korea last August was 251.33 Mbps, ranking 22nd in the world. South Korea, which ranked 1st in the world for average connection speed in Akamai's 2017 State of the Internet report, has plummeted to 22nd in less than a decade.

The rapid progress of Vietnam and Thailand stood out. As recently as 2015, Vietnam’s wired internet speed was merely one-sixth of South Korea’s. However, as of last August, Vietnam’s wired internet download speed reached 301.48 Mbps, which is about 20% faster than South Korea, placing it 14 steps ahead in the rankings. Thailand also recorded 298.92 Mbps, ranking 9th in the world.

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Over the past few years, both countries have actively invested in replacing fiber-optic cables and expanding 5G infrastructure. Vietnam has seen a steep rise in its wired download speeds entering 2026. Conversely, critics point out that South Korea's investment in upgrading its infrastructure has been relatively sluggish since it built its world-class ultra-fast internet network in the early 2000s.

South Korea also lagged behind in city-specific rankings. Seoul's wired internet download speed remained at 238.69 Mbps, staying at 34th in the world. It fell behind not only Bangkok (321.90 Mbps, 6th) but also Ho Chi Minh City (298.38 Mbps, 14th) and Hanoi (251.94 Mbps, 30th).

Singapore claimed 1st place in the wired sector with 462.50 Mbps, about 1.8 times the level of South Korea. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Chile followed, while the United States ranked 7th. China (24th) and Japan (26th) ranked lower than South Korea.

S. Korea Ranks 6th in Mobile Globally… Hard to Conclude Technology Gap Due to Measurement Methods

In terms of mobile internet, South Korea still maintained a top-tier position. South Korea's mobile internet speed recorded 250.56 Mbps, ranking 6th in the world. Although the speeds of wired and mobile internet are similar, there is a 16-tier difference in their rankings. While only five countries, including the UAE and Qatar, were ahead of South Korea in mobile, 21 countries were faster than South Korea in wired internet. This is a figure that demonstrates the reality where South Korea has led in 5G investment, but relative modernization of its wired infrastructure has fallen behind.

This ranking reflects direct measurements taken by global users between June and August. However, due to Ookla's measurement methodology, mobile Wi-Fi is included in wired measurements, making it difficult to conclusively determine differences in national communication technology capabilities based on rankings alone.

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