South Korea

== Science and technology ==
{{Main|History of science and technology in Korea}}{{See also|List of Korean inventions and discoveries}}
[[File:LG전자, 깜빡임 없는 55인치 3D OLED TV 공개(2).jpg|thumb|A 3D [[OLED]] TV made by Korean [[LG Display]], the world's largest [[LCD]] and [[OLED]] maker]]

Scientific and technological development in South Korea at first did not occur largely because of more pressing matters such as the [[division of Korea]] and the [[Korean War]] that occurred right after its independence. It was not until the 1960s under the dictatorship of Park Chung Hee where South Korea's economy rapidly grew from industrialization and the [[chaebol]] corporations such as [[Samsung]], [[LG Corporation|LG]], and [[SK Group|SK]]. Ever since the industrialization of South Korea's economy, South Korea has placed its focus on technology-based corporations, which has been supported by infrastructure developments by the government.

South Korea leads the OECD in graduates in science and engineering.<ref name="Business Insider">{{cite web |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/most-technological-countries-lag-behind-in-science-2015-12/#7-estonia-26-has-one-of-the-highest-percentages-of-female-stem-graduates-at-41-in-2012-4 |title=These are the 10 smartest countries in the world when it comes to science |website=Business Insider |date=4 December 2015 |access-date=26 October 2016 |archive-date=27 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027055849/http://www.businessinsider.com/most-technological-countries-lag-behind-in-science-2015-12/#7-estonia-26-has-one-of-the-highest-percentages-of-female-stem-graduates-at-41-in-2012-4 |url-status=live }}</ref> From 2014 to 2019, the country ranked first among the most innovative countries in the [[Bloomberg Innovation Index]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-22/germany-nearly-catches-korea-as-innovation-champ-u-s-rebounds|title=These Are the World's Most Innovative Countries|newspaper=Bloomberg|date=5 May 2019|access-date=28 March 2024|archive-date=7 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207135624/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-22/germany-nearly-catches-korea-as-innovation-champ-u-s-rebounds|url-status=live}}</ref> It was ranked 10th in the [[Global Innovation Index]] in 2023 down from 5th in 2022.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Global Innovation Index 2023, 15th Edition |url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2023/index.html |access-date=2023-10-17 |via=www.wipo.int |date=23 October 2023 |publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization |doi=10.34667/tind.46596 |isbn=9789280534320 |language=en |last1=Dutta |first1=Soumitra |last2=Lanvin |first2=Bruno |last3=Wunsch-Vincent |first3=Sacha |last4=León |first4=Lorena Rivera |last5=World Intellectual Property Organization |archive-date=22 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022042128/https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2023/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2022/index.html |title=Global Innovation Index 2022, 15th Edition |publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization |year=2022 |isbn=9789280534320 |language=en |doi=10.34667/tind.46596 |access-date=17 November 2022 |last1=Dutta |first1=Soumitra |last2=Lanvin |first2=Bruno |last3=Wunsch-Vincent |first3=Sacha |last4=León |first4=Lorena Rivera |last5=World Intellectual Property Organization |archive-date=3 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221203061259/https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2022/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> South Korea today is known as a launchpad of a mature mobile market, where developers can reap benefits of a market where very few technology constraints exist. There is a growing trend of inventions of new types of media or apps, utilizing the 4G and 5G internet infrastructure in South Korea. South Korea has the infrastructures to meet a density of population and culture that has the capability to create strong local particularity.<ref name="Tesla">{{cite web|url=http://www.innovationiseverywhere.com/south-korean-startups-save-conglomerates/|title=Can South Korean Startups (and the government) Save its Flailing Giant Tech Conglomerates?|work=Innovation is Everywhere|agency=Agence Tesla|date=22 June 2016|access-date=18 July 2016|archive-date=25 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160925080223/http://www.innovationiseverywhere.com/south-korean-startups-save-conglomerates/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Total spending for research&nbsp;and development grew from about 3.9% of [[gross domestic product]] (GDP) in 2013&nbsp;to more than 4.9% in 2022 and was thus the second-highest in the world, only behind Israel which spent 5.9%. In 2023 the government&nbsp;announced a spending cut by about&nbsp;11% for 2024 and the intention to shift resources to new initiatives, such as efforts to build rockets, pursue biomedical research, and develop US-style biotech innovation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Normile |first=Dennis |date=2023-09-22 |title=South Korea, a science spending champion, proposes cutbacks |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adk9447 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=381 |issue=6664 |pages=1273 |doi=10.1126/science.adk9447 |pmid=37733868 |bibcode=2023Sci...381.1273N |s2cid=262084532 |issn=0036-8075 |access-date=22 September 2023 |archive-date=6 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206221258/https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adk9447 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Cyber security ===
{{See also|Internet censorship in South Korea}}
Following [[2013 South Korea cyberattack|cyberattacks]] in the first half of 2013, whereby government, news-media, television station, and bank websites were compromised, the national government committed to the training of 5,000 new cybersecurity experts by 2017. The South Korean government [[Bureau 121|blamed North Korea]] for these attacks, as well as incidents that occurred in 2009, 2011 and 2012, but Pyongyang denies the accusations.<ref name="Jun">{{cite news|title=Seoul Puts a Price on Cyberdefense|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2013/09/23/seoul-puts-a-price-on-cyberdefense/|access-date=24 September 2013|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=23 September 2013|author=Kwanwoo Jun|archive-date=25 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925102342/http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2013/09/23/seoul-puts-a-price-on-cyberdefense/|url-status=live}}</ref> South Korea's government maintains a broad-ranging approach toward the regulation of specific online content and imposes a substantial level of [[Censorship in South Korea|censorship]] on election-related discourse and on many websites that the government deems subversive or socially harmful.<ref>{{cite news |title=South Korean war on 'fake news' raises concern of censorship |url=https://www.apnews.com/3d14a9663b114644a36e123a7c7bf9b1 |work=Reuters |date=26 October 2018 |access-date=14 September 2019 |archive-date=11 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191111160909/https://apnews.com/3d14a9663b114644a36e123a7c7bf9b1 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Is South Korea Sliding Toward Digital Dictatorship? |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidvolodzko/2019/02/25/is-south-korea-sliding-toward-digital-dictatorship/ |work=[[Forbes]] |date=25 February 2019 |access-date=14 September 2019 |archive-date=5 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205192451/https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidvolodzko/2019/02/25/is-south-korea-sliding-toward-digital-dictatorship/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Aerospace engineering ===
{{Main|Korea Aerospace Research Institute}}
[[File:KSLV-II Nuri Launch 2021-10-21.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Nuri (rocket)|KSLV-II Nuri]] during liftoff]]
South Korea has sent up 10 satellites since 1992, all using foreign rockets and overseas launch pads, notably [[Arirang-1]] in 1999, and [[Arirang-2]] in 2006 as part of its space partnership with Russia.<ref>{{cite news|title=Korea, Russia Enter Full-Fledged Space Partnership|url=http://www.defencetalk.com/korea-russia-enter-full-fledged-space-partnership-12504/|newspaper=Defence Talk|date=5 July 2007|access-date=7 June 2013|archive-date=29 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029212749/http://www.defencetalk.com/korea-russia-enter-full-fledged-space-partnership-12504/|url-status=live}}</ref> Arirang-1 was lost in space in 2008, after nine years in service.<ref>[http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/South_Korea_Confirms_Contact_With_Satellite_Lost_999.html South Korea Confirms Contact With Satellite Lost] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809123146/http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/South_Korea_Confirms_Contact_With_Satellite_Lost_999.html |date=9 August 2014 }}, Space Daily, 7 January 2008. Retrieved 15 July 2010.</ref> In April 2008, [[Yi So-yeon]] became the first Korean to fly in space, aboard the Russian [[Soyuz TMA-12]].<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3708907.ece "Scientist Yi So Yeon becomes first Korean astronaut"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629163430/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3708907.ece |date=29 June 2011 }}, ''The Times'' (London), 9 April 2008</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7335874.stm "First S Korean astronaut launches"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626221230/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7335874.stm |date=26 June 2018 }}. BBC News (8 April 2008). Retrieved 17 April 2015.</ref>

In June 2009, the first [[spaceport]] of South Korea, [[Naro Space Center]], was completed at [[Goheung]], [[South Jeolla Province]].<ref>[https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/09/113_46562.html "S. Korea Completes Work on Naro Space Center"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417164905/https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/09/113_46562.html |date=17 April 2015 }}, ''The Korea Times'' (Seoul), 10 June 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2010.</ref> The launch of [[Naro-1]] in January 2013 was a success, after two previous failed attempts.<ref>{{cite web |author=Chris Bergin |url=http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2013/01/south-korea-stsat-2c-via-kslv-1/ |title=South Korea launch STSAT-2C via KSLV-1 |publisher=NASASpaceFlight.com |date=30 January 2013 |access-date=8 March 2013 |archive-date=4 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204100245/http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2013/01/south-korea-stsat-2c-via-kslv-1/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Efforts to build an indigenous space launch vehicle have been marred by persistent political pressure from the United States, who had for many decades hindered South Korea's indigenous rocket and missile development programs<ref>{{cite news |title=South Korea's first rocket ready&nbsp;– at last |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/KH11Dg01.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120724180258/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/KH11Dg01.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 July 2012 |work=Asia Times |location=Hong Kong |date=11 August 2009 |access-date=21 August 2010 }}</ref> in fear of their possible connection to clandestine military ballistic missile programs, which Korea many times insisted did not violate the research and development guidelines stipulated by US-Korea agreements on restriction of rocket technology research and development.<ref>{{cite news |title= S. Korea DAPA commissioner confirms 500 km-range ballistic missile development research |url= http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_international/381039.html |work= The Hankyeoreh |date= 9 October 2009 |access-date= 21 August 2010 |archive-date= 11 May 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110511182610/http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_international/381039.html |url-status= live }}</ref> South Korea has sought the assistance of foreign countries such as Russia through [[MTCR]] commitments to supplement its restricted domestic rocket technology. The two failed KSLV-I [[launch vehicle]]s were based on the [[Universal Rocket Module]], the first stage of the Russian [[Angara rocket]], combined with a solid-fueled second stage built by South Korea.

On 21 October 2021, the [[KSLV-2]] Nuri was successfully launched, and South Korea became a country with its own space projectile technology.<ref>{{cite web |date=21 June 2022 |title=South Korea succeeds in putting satellites into orbit, 7th in world |url=https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022/06/292e01462a69-update1-s-korea-succeeds-in-putting-satellites-into-orbit-7th-in-world.html?phrase=masks&words= |publisher=Kyodo News}}</ref>

=== Robotics ===
{{Main|South Korean robotics}}
[[File:Einstein-Hubo.jpg|upright|thumb|right|Albert HUBO, developed by [[KAIST]], can make expressive gestures with its five separate fingers.]]

[[Robotics]] has been included in the list of main national research and development projects since 2003.<ref>[http://www.mke.go.kr/language/eng/news/news_view.jsp?seq=7&srchType=1&srchWord=&tableNm=E_01_02&pageNo=1 Special Report: [Business Opportunities&#93; R&D] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512174637/http://www.mke.go.kr/language/eng/news/news_view.jsp?seq=7&srchType=1&srchWord=&tableNm=E_01_02&pageNo=1 |date=12 May 2012 }}. [[Ministry of Knowledge Economy]], 3 September 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2009.</ref> In 2009, the government announced plans to build robot-themed parks in Incheon and Masan with a mix of public and private funding.<ref>[http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2900986 "Robot parks, a world first"]. ''[[JoongAng Daily]]'', 13 February 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2009.</ref> In 2005, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology ([[KAIST]]) developed the world's second walking [[humanoid robot]], [[HUBO]]. A team in the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology developed the first Korean [[android (robot)|android]], [[EveR-1]] in May 2006.<ref>[http://www.livescience.com/technology/060508_android.html Android Has Human-Like Skin and Expressions], Live Science, 8 May 2006. Retrieved 15 July 2009.</ref>
EveR-1 has been succeeded by more complex models with improved movement and vision.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/05/android-korea-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060603150935/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/05/android-korea-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 June 2006 |title=Female Android Debuts in S. Korea, National Geographic, 15 May 2006 |magazine=National Geographic |date=28 October 2010 |access-date=10 August 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=101&oid=001&aid=0002618693 |title=EveR-3, Yonhap News, 20 April 2009 |language= ko |publisher=[[Naver News]] |date=20 April 2009 |access-date=10 August 2013}}</ref>

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.<ref>[http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-02/south-korea-gives-go-robot-english-teachers-classrooms South Korean Robot English Teachers Are Go], Popular Science, 24 February 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2010.</ref> Robotics are also incorporated in the entertainment sector; the ''Korean Robot Game Festival'' has been held every year since 2004 to promote science and robot technology.<ref>[http://www.robotwar.or.kr/ Korean Robot Game Festival] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514221858/https://www.robotwar.or.kr/ |date=14 May 2011 }}, Official Site</ref>

=== Biotechnology ===
Since the 1980s, the government has invested in the development of a domestic [[biotechnology]] industry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bio2008.org/siteobjects/published/ec046034f6d7506aa06582be6902d018/af4810817445624b5dbc9d45f79c348b/file/Korea%20Country%20Profile.pdf |title=Bio International Convention Korea Country Profile |publisher=Bio2008.org |access-date=29 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110917091259/http://www.bio2008.org/siteobjects/published/ec046034f6d7506aa06582be6902d018/af4810817445624b5dbc9d45f79c348b/file/Korea%20Country%20Profile.pdf |archive-date=17 September 2011}}</ref> The medical sector accounts for a large part of the production, including production of [[Hepatitis A vaccine|hepatitis vaccines]] and [[antibiotic]]s. Research and development in [[genetics]] and [[cloning]] 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 [[gray wolves]] by the [[Seoul National University]] in 2007.<ref>{{cite web|author=AFP |url=http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/03/26/clonedwolf_ani.html |title=Discovery Channel :: News&nbsp;– Animals :: Endangered Wolf Cloned in South Korea |publisher=Dsc.discovery.com |access-date=25 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100109213341/http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/03/26/clonedwolf_ani.html |archive-date=9 January 2010}}</ref> The rapid growth of the industry has resulted in significant voids in regulation of ethics, as was highlighted by the [[Hwang Woo-Suk#Controversies|scientific misconduct]] case involving [[Hwang Woo-Suk]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.philau.edu/schools/liberalarts/news/documents/AbdulhaqqSSH.pdf|title=Biotechnology|access-date=25 April 2010}}</ref>

Since late 2020, SK Bioscience Inc. (a division of [[SK Group]]) has been producing a major proportion of the [[Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine|Vaxzevria]] vaccine (also known as COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca), under license from the [[University of Oxford]] and [[AstraZeneca]], for worldwide distribution through the [[COVAX]] facility under the [[WHO]] hospice. A recent agreement with [[Novavax]] expands its production for a second vaccine to 40 million doses in 2022, with a $450 million investment in domestic and overseas facilities.<ref>Dunleavy, Kevin (25 February 2021). [https://www.fiercepharma.com/manufacturing/ipo-sk-bioscience-has-big-plans-for-expansion "With $900M IPO, SK Bioscience has big plans for manufacturing expansion—even beyond COVID-19 vaccines"] ''FiercePharma''. Retrieved 24 April 2021.</ref>