Science And Technology In South Korea
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Science and technology in South Korea has advanced throughout the decades. The advancement of science and technology has become an integral part of
economic planning Economic planning is a resource allocation mechanism based on a computational procedure for solving a constrained maximization problem with an iterative process for obtaining its solution. Planning is a mechanism for the allocation of resources ...
in
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
. Fast-growing industries have created a massive demand for new and more advanced technologies. Additionally, Korean engineers and scientists propose that the advancement of science and technology in partnership with North Korea could help facilitate the peaceful reunification of North and South Korea. In the pursuit of advancement, South Korea has taken a centralized approach. South Korea was ranked 5th in the
Global Innovation Index The Global Innovation Index is an annual ranking of countries by their capacity for and success in innovation, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It was started in 2007 by INSEAD and ''World Business'', a Britis ...
in 2024. As of 2022, South Korea has the sixth largest private investment in
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
.


History


Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies (KOFST)

The was established in 1966 and consists of 780 organizations as of 2012. The goals of the KOFST are to make the sharing of technology and research data between these societies easier and to encourage and facilitate the cooperation of
Pacific Rim The Pacific Rim comprises the lands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The '' Pacific Basin'' includes the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Rim roughly overlaps with the geological Pacific Ring of Fire. List ...
countries.


Aerospace engineering

South Korea has sent up 10 satellites from 1992, all using foreign rockets and overseas launch pads, notably
Arirang-1 KOMPSAT-1 (Korean Multi-purpose Satellite-1), also known as Arirang-1, was a satellite created by the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), and launched by a United States launch vehicle on 21 December ...
in 1999, and
Arirang-2 KOMPSAT-2 (Korean Multi-purpose Satellite-2), also known as Arirang-2, is a South Korean multipurpose Earth observation satellite. It was launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia at 07:45:43 UTC (16:05:43 KST) on 28 July 2006. It began to tr ...
in 2006 as part of its space partnership with Russia. Arirang-1 was lost in space in 2008, after nine years in service. In April 2008, Yi So-yeon became the first Korean to fly in space, aboard the Russian Soyuz TMA-12. In June 2009, the first
spaceport A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching or receiving spacecraft, by analogy to a seaport for ships or an airport for aircraft. The word ''spaceport''—and even more so ''cosmodrome''—has traditionally referred to sites capable of ...
of South Korea,
Naro Space Center The Naro Space Center is a South Korean spaceport in South Jeolla's Goheung, Goheung County, operated by the state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute. The spaceport is located about south of Seoul. It includes two launch pads, a contro ...
, was completed at
Goheung Goheung County () is a county in Jeollanam-do Province, South Korea. Naro Space Center The Naro Space Center was completed during 2008 in southern Goheung and is operated by the state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute. The space center inc ...
,
South Jeolla Province South Jeolla Province (), formerly South Chŏlla Province, also known as Jeonnam (), is a province in the Honam, Honam region, South Korea, and the Provinces of Korea, southernmost province in mainland Korea. South Jeolla borders the provinces of ...
. The launch of
Naro-1 Naro-1 (), previously designated the Korea Space Launch Vehicle or KSLV (also KSLV-1), was South Korea's first carrier rocket, and the first South Korean launch vehicle to achieve low Earth orbit, Earth orbit. On January 30, 2013, the third Naro ...
in August 2009 resulted in a failure. The second attempt in June 2010 was also unsuccessful. However, the third launch of the Naro 1 in January 2013 was successful. The government plans to develop Naro-2 by the year 2018. Companies involved in the aerospace and defense markets of South Korea are primarily large multinational companies. These large companies have been further strengthened by a push towards consolidation in the market. This results in a difficulty for newer companies to enter the South Korean aerospace market. With the final successful launch of the
Nuri Nuri is a place in modern Sudan on the west side of the Nile River, Nile, near the Fourth Cataract. Nuri is situated about 15 km north of Sanam, Sudan, Sanam, and 10 km from Jebel Barkal. History Nuri is the second of three Napatan bur ...
, which South Korea launched for the third time in 2023, South Korea has become the seventh country in the world to have a medium-sized liquid-propellant rocket engine over 75 tons. Two years after South Korea officially expressed its intention to join
Horizon Europe Horizon Europe is a seven-year European Union scientific research initiative to help develop a sustainable and livable society in Europe. It is the ninth of the Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development (FP9), and the succe ...
in 2022, South Korea and the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
signed a Horizon Europe agreement, which is expected to allow Korea to participate in that from 2025. National Aerospace Industrial Complex is being built in
South Gyeongsang Province South Gyeongsang Province (, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World Heritage Site Haeinsa, a Buddhist temple tha ...
, bringing together aerospace-related companies and agencies, with the goal of completion in June 2025.


Defense technology

Due to the growing perceived threat of North Korea, South Korea is increasing defense spending. In 2019, South Korea is expected to increase spending by the largest amount in 11 years. Hanwha Techwin is a leading South Korean company manufacturing defense products, security devices, engines, digital solutions, and integrated control systems in South Korea. Hanwha Techwin produces video recorders, surveillance software, access control products, and intelligent machinery and solutions.


Biotechnology

Since the 1980s, the South Korean government has invested in the development of a domestic
biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...
industry, and the sector is projected to grow to by 2010. The medical sector accounts for a large part of the production, including production of hepatitis vaccines and
antibiotic An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting pathogenic bacteria, bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the therapy ...
s. Recently, research and development in
genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...
and
cloning Cloning is the process of producing individual organisms with identical genomes, either by natural or artificial means. In nature, some organisms produce clones through asexual reproduction; this reproduction of an organism by itself without ...
has received increasing attention, with the first successful cloning of a dog, Snuppy (in 2005), and the cloning of two females of an endangered species of wolves by the
Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the SKY (universities), SKY universities and a part of the Flagship Korean National Universities. The university's main c ...
in 2007. The rapid growth of the industry has resulted in significant voids in regulation of ethics, as was highlighted by the
scientific misconduct Scientific misconduct is the violation of the standard codes of scholarly method, scholarly conduct and ethics, ethical behavior in the publication of professional science, scientific research. It is the violation of scientific integrity: violati ...
case involving Hwang Woo-Suk. In January 2025, the country launched the National Bio Committee, an advisory committee directly under the president.


Robotics

Robotics Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...
has been included in the list of main national R&D projects in South Korea since 2003. In 2009, the government announced plans to build robot-themed parks in
Incheon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...
and
Masan Masan () is an administrative region of Changwon, a city of South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It was formerly an independent city from 1949 until 30 June 2010, when it was absorbed to Changwon along with Jinhae District, Jinhae. Masan was ...
with a mix of public and private funding. In 2005,
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology KAIST (originally the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) is a national university, national research university located in Daedeok Innopolis, Daejeon, South Korea. KAIST was established by the Korean government in 1971 as the ...
(KAIST) developed the world's second walking
humanoid robot A humanoid robot is a robot resembling the human body in shape. The design may be for functional purposes, such as interacting with human tools and environments and working alongside humans, for experimental purposes, such as the study of bipeda ...
, HUBO. A team in the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology developed the first South Korean android, EveR-1 in May 2006. EveR-1 has been succeeded by more complex models with improved movement and vision. Plans of creating English-teaching robot assistants to compensate for the shortage of teachers were announced in February 2010, with the robots being deployed to most preschools and kindergartens by 2013. Robotics are also incorporated in the entertainment sector as well; the ''Korean Robot Game Festival'' has been held every year since 2004 to promote science and robot technology.


International Science Olympiads

Performance of South Korean students in
International Science Olympiads The International Science Olympiads are a group of worldwide annual competitions in various areas of the formal sciences, natural sciences, and social sciences. The competitions are designed for the 4-6 best high school students from each partici ...
*South Korea's rank based on number of Gold Medals in last 10 years (2014–2023): ** Physics - 2-nd ** Chemistry - 6-th ** Biology - 6-th ** Mathematics - 3-rd


Cooperation with other countries


European Union

South Korea is the first country in Asia to participate in Horizon Europe, the world's largest multilateral research and innovation program.


See also

*
Automotive industry in South Korea The automotive industry in South Korea is the List of countries by motor vehicle production, fifth-largest in the world as measured by automobile unit production and also the five-largest by automobile export volume. While its initial operati ...
*
Economy of South Korea The economy of South Korea is a highly developed mixed economy. By nominal GDP, the economy was worth (US$1.87 trillion). It has the 4th largest economy in Asia and the 13th largest in the world as of 2025. South Korea is notable for its ...
*
Korea Aerospace Research Institute The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI; ), established in 1989, is the aeronautics and space agency of South Korea. Its main laboratories are located in Daejeon, in the Daedeok Science Town. KARI's vision is to continue building upon in ...
* List of Korean inventions and discoveries * Manufacturing in South Korea


References

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