An Empirical Study of Korean Cultural Effects on the Usability of Biometric Symbols

Published

June 17, 2010

Author(s)

Young-Bin Kwon, Yooyoung Lee, Yee-Yin Choong

Abstract

Biometrics is an umbrella term for methods that identify an individual based on physiological and/or behavioral characteristics such as fingerprint, face, iris, retina, vein, palm, voice, gait, signature, etc. The use of biometric systems is increasing worldwide - consequently there is a need for understanding its procedures via common biometric symbols. However, people with different backgrounds, such as native language, culture, customs, life style, education level, and religion, have various perceptions and expectations of any given symbol. We evaluated how Korean culture influences the use of biometric symbols. Our study was performed by interviewing 99 native Korean subjects using 24 symbols which were developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Biometrics Usability group. The results present empirical evidence of differences in understanding and expectations of biometric symbols due to Korean culture and user knowledge.

Proceedings Title

3rd International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE2010)

Conference Dates

July 17-21, 2010

Conference Location

Miami, FL, US

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

Biometrics, Usability, Symbol, Cultural factors

Citation

Kwon, Y. , Lee, Y. and Choong, Y. (2010), An Empirical Study of Korean Cultural Effects on the Usability of Biometric Symbols, 3rd International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE2010) , Miami, FL, US, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=905097 (Accessed May 12, 2026)

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