I think fifty dollars per month is no small amount of money for a student. To be honest, I didn't need to use a beeper and a cellular phone because I didn't have any urgent business, but all my family and friends had cellular phones. In Korea, the cellular phone is pervasive. More than fifty percent of the population has a cellular phone. Korea has a group-oriented culture, so a strange and independent person isn't welcome.
People think that person is eccentric.
I didn't want to be eccentric, so I could not do anything else but use a beeper and a cellular phone. I had to check my beeper and cellular phone all the time, and I had to change the battery every day. It was kind of a hassle. Even though I didn't want to answer the phone, I had to answer it because as long as I had a beeper and a cellular phone, a quick answer was etiquette. It really invaded my life.