The growth of South Korea as a major contributor in the field of science, engineering and technology can be considered a story for many growing economies to emulate. The continuous and huge investments made in human resource development and research activities have borne fruit by building a remarkable innovation system in the country.
In the early 1960’s, Korea was a developing country characterized by poor resources, production bases and a minute domestic market. Even national security was a question with added problems from a large population. Korea’s gross domestic product in 1961 was only $2.3 billion or $82 per capita. Also, international economic interactions were minuscule with insignificant exports and huge imports.
Korea was no name in the field of science and technology. With only two science and technology institutes one in atomic energy research and the other in national defense and a meager number of trained scientists and engineers, the nation was far from the technological revolution widespread in the rest of the world.
If Korea is considered a dynamic economy now, then it is due in part to the policies followed by the country with respect to science and technology. The country undertook heavy investments in human resource development and companies were encouraged to compete in global markets. Later, more emphasis was given to the scientific research scene by emphasizing more on the basic system for innovation to make the economy prosper.
Korea’s economic development plan drawn up in 1962 strived to put an industrial base in place that could support both import substitution and export promotion. Foreign technologies had to be adopted as starting from scratch would have not been feasible. The two pronged initiatives taken by Korea involved promoting the inward transfer of foreign technologies and developing the domestic absorptive capacity to digest, assimilate, and improve on the transferred technologies. Korea encouraged reverse engineering, original equipment manufacturing and foreign licensing methods. This increased worker knowledge.
Long term foreign loans were procured, which came with optimized foreign technologies. Korean firms benefited a lot as workers gained technological know-how from foreign buyers who provided the product designs and materials and also monitored quality control in the production process. Workers gained immense knowledge in the garment and electronics industries.
The government realized that to sustain the initiated development there was a need to build indigenous research and development capability. The National R&D Program launched in 1982 encouraged and promoted research activities besides offering tax credits for investments and worker development. This exposed companies to international competition. Export performance was rewarded and companies were given better opportunities and access to financial resources.
Chaebol
Soon Korean firms, especially large ones, learnt to keep themselves competitive and invested heavily on research to keep abreast with the technologically advanced countries of the world. This lead to the formation of unique business organizations in Korea called the “chaebols” which functioned in many ways like the Zaibatsu in Japan before World War II.
Chaebols leveraged economies of scale and developed their businesses aggressively. They attempted risky and expensive R&D projects that were out of scope for small and medium businesses. This resulted in a decrease in technology imports and the key word became “innovation” in every sphere. Korea soon rose in position as a large investor in R&D among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries.
Korea’s success in the engineering field was due to investments in research for which it needed educated personnel. Human resources had to be developed more than even financial resources. The Korean government invested huge amounts in education and human resource development. This in turn lead to innovative ideas and technologically advanced products which are in great demand the world over, taking Korea to higher echelons in the engineering arena, be it construction technology, electronics, entertainment, packaging, medicine, biotechnology, automotive or renewable energy technologies.
Innovations in medicine
The Korean efforts in medicine are remarkable. The Seoul Stem Cell Research Center along with Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society or TERMIS strives to do innovative studies in the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, which involves engineering, biology and medicine. The research will revolutionize the way tissue can be replaced, repaired and maintained in the body for therapeutic and diagnostic applications. This is expected to be an innovative field of the future.
The rise in life expectancy further encourages tissue and organ treatment. Korean efforts are leading to remarkable and exciting innovations in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, which are expected to enhance healthcare and biomedicine. The resulting solutions will help treat chronic, age-related, traumatic diseases besides Parkinson’s disease, arthritis and skin ulcers.
The national system of innovation was developed at the end of the 1980s in Korea. Efforts are being taken to improve the Korean biotechnology field under the system. Biotechnology has gained the name as a key technology of the present and future. “Korean system of innovations for biotechnology” strives to take the theoretical considerations in the field and arrive at innovations which are Korea specific.
Communications Technology
WiBro or Wireless Broadband is a wireless broadband Internet technology and is an innovative technology developed by the South Korean telecom industry. WiBro is expected to overcome data rate limitation of mobile phones and also provide mobility in broadband Internet access. WiBro can stream video content and other loss-sensitive data and is precise about the spectrum use and equipment design making it a more advantageous communications technology compared to WiMAX.
Korean national IT project gave the world Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB), which is a digital radio transmission technology. The technology enables multimedia like TV, radio and datacasting to mobile devices including mobile phones. Also called mobile TV, DVB is a digital technology for replacing FM radio. The transmission can be effected both via satellite ( S-DMB) and by terrestrial (T-DMB) mode. South Korea was the first to launch these services in 2005.
Entertainment
South Korea-based Saehan Information Systems was the first to launch the MP3 Player in the name of MPMan.
The MPMan is a Flash-based player and was available in 32 mb, which is equal to the storage capacity of 6 songs. The players were licensed to Eiger Labs, which distributed the devices as Eiger Labs MPMan F10.
In 2001 the first MP3 players were installed into mobile phones in South Korea. Soon a majority of music content was sold directly to mobile phones. Within a few years, major mobile phone companies came out with music phones. The sale of music phones surpassed that of MP3 Players. Now most mobile phone models come incorporated with an MP3 player thanks to the Korean innovation.
Korean Automotive Industry
The fostering of a strong economy also included developments in its automotive industry. To develope the automobile industry, the Korean government announced the “Automobile Industry Promotion Policy” and the “Automobile Industry Protection Act” in the 1960s. Foreign automakers were not allowed in Korea to operate by themselves. Three new companies were started that operated with help from foreign companies like General Motors, Mazda, Nissan etc.
After going through many ups and downs, the Korean automobile industry started growing with Hyundai Motors exporting nearly 1 million cars to the United States in one year. Its various models were selected for many awards on foreign shores. But quality became a question mark and the company’s sales fell.
Not to be bogged down, Hyundai started investing heavily in quality, design, manufacturing methods and long-term research and improved its stand in the world market. In 1998 it took over KIA motors and established itself firmly in North America, its large export market. The company opened manufacturing facilities in the U.S., also striking gold for its development efforts.
New Energy Technology Innovations
Presently, there is a dire need for clean green energy. In its endeavor to make its presence felt in the latest green technologies, the Korean government instituted the Korea institute of Energy research to conduct research in fuel cell technology. The “Promotion Act for the Development of Alternative Energy” in 1987 encouraged the development of innovative new ideas in renewable energy sources including fuel cell and photovoltaic and wind power.
Innovations in new technologies were promoted especially after the 1978 oil crisis. The National Energy Plan and R&D Program propelled fuel cell innovation. This helped Korea reduce its import dependence on fossil fuels like petroleum. Steps were taken to leverage 11 major alternative energy technologies like solar, thermal, bio-energy, hydropower, coal gasification, water recycling, geothermal and hydrogen technology etc.
The drivers of innovation in the renewable energy sector in Korea were energy demand, change in government policies and regulations and technological advancement. Chief contributors for research in this fuel cell and photovoltaic field are Seoul National University, Yonsei University, Korea University, Sogang University, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and others. Many private firms such as LG, SKC ATS Solar, Hyundai Motors, Kukdong City Gas, LG Oils and LG Industrial Systems are also involved in promoting the new technologies.
To further enhance and promote technology dissemination, the Korean government is providing financial and institutional support to small power generation businesses and other companies. More international collaboration is expected to occur to promote innovation for commercializing these new technologies.