YMMV, but we have a four year old daughter and have liberally allowed screen time throughout her life with some minor restrictions via parental controls.
She's learned so much from the content. We're a non-english home and a lot of her early english words/conversations were absorbed from Word Party (Netflix). Additionally we've found that Daniel Tiger via the PBS app is a great children's show. She also has a couple educational games (Khan Academy, etc) and she's really excited whenever she learns something new.
Contrast that to my upbringing where I wasn't allowed to watch tv or use the computer at all until High School, and only with strict supervision. For a long time I was able unable to control myself as I had never developed that skillset. My daughter is already controlling herself and has lots of other interests where too much "screen time" hasn't been a problem. I think she doesn't view screen time isn't a limited resource contrasted to some of her friends where "screen time" has now become a scheduled and limited part of their day.
All that being said, each child is incredibly different and I'm sure our son will have a radically different set of challenges.
I'm sorta surprised by your statement. I've lived in Seoul, Tokyo, and NYC for various periods of my life and I'd definitely say Tokyo feels the most "modern" when you scratch beneath the surface.
For example, I'd say the basic subway system between Seoul and Tokyo are pretty similar but you also have the advantage of a vastly superior rail network that serves Greater Tokyo and the rest of Japan. KTX and SRT in Korea are improving every year but don't really compare yet. Additionally, the new subway stations in Seoul are quite nice (Line #9) but you also have really old lines (Line #1) where many of the stations are so badly maintained they feel inferior to their counterparts in Tokyo (Ginza, Hibiya).
I can't really speak to the english speaking issues in South Korea, but in Tokyo I never really had any issues even though I don't speak Japanese. Most places in Tokyo will have english menus because it's a tourist centric city. Neighborhood family owned dives probably don't speak english very well but they wouldn't in Seoul either.
The thing that makes Seoul fall short for me is the standard of building maintenance. Although things are changing, it was generally the case that for several generations of building maintenance they just expected to tear them down and rebuild. Tokyo has a similar problem, necessitated by constant building damage and updated building codes from earthquakes, but the biggest difference is that a lot of these buildings in Seoul are 10+ stories tall. Most of Tokyo's building stock is <10 stories. It's become cost prohibitive in Seoul to actually tear these buildings down and rebuild them.
One of the worst things for me is how car centric Seoul is. It's rare in Tokyo to have 3+ lane roads that aren't toll road/expressways. They're all over Seoul and the side roads are packed full of "valet" parking for restaurants that don't actually have parking lots. The entire car culture feels way more chaotic there than Tokyo. In Tokyo, you can't buy a car unless you prove you have a registered parking spot. In Seoul, you just double park your neighbor and put your phone number in case you need to move your car.
Lastly the air quality in Seoul is way worse than Tokyo. Feels like you constantly have to stay indoors for weeks during the bad "yellow dust" season.
She's learned so much from the content. We're a non-english home and a lot of her early english words/conversations were absorbed from Word Party (Netflix). Additionally we've found that Daniel Tiger via the PBS app is a great children's show. She also has a couple educational games (Khan Academy, etc) and she's really excited whenever she learns something new.
Contrast that to my upbringing where I wasn't allowed to watch tv or use the computer at all until High School, and only with strict supervision. For a long time I was able unable to control myself as I had never developed that skillset. My daughter is already controlling herself and has lots of other interests where too much "screen time" hasn't been a problem. I think she doesn't view screen time isn't a limited resource contrasted to some of her friends where "screen time" has now become a scheduled and limited part of their day.
All that being said, each child is incredibly different and I'm sure our son will have a radically different set of challenges.