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How South Korea made itself a global innovation leader

Systemic reform backed by strong investment has brought rapid and long-lasting results.
By
  1. Leigh Dayton

    1. Leigh Dayton is science and innovation writer based in Sydney, Australia.

A woman sits looking at her phone on a hillside above the Seoul city skyline

South Korea is a global leader in information and communication technologies. Credit: Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images

South Korea’s position as one of the world’s most innovative nations is a remarkable achievement considering that, for the first half of the twentieth century, it was an agrarian-based Japanese colony, then a battle ground.

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Nature 581, S54-S56 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-01466-7

This article is part of Nature Index 2020 South Korea, an editorially independent supplement. Advertisers have no influence over the content.

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 02 June 2020: This article originally gave the incorrect founding date for KAIST. It was founded in 1971, not 1981. The article has now been corrected.

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