Over 60 Years of the Development of Science and Technology in Korea

Over 60 Years of the Development of Science

and Technology in Korea

Before its liberation in 1945, Korea remained a backward colonial semi-feudal society and lagged far behind in modern technical civilization as it did not go through an industrial revolution.

When the country was liberated from Japan’s military occupation, its science and technology were in a woeful state. There were few specialists and technicians for restoring blast furnaces and factories the Japanese destroyed when they were fleeing.

Kim Il Sung, founder of socialist Korea, found out them one by one and trained them into the pillars of the building of a new society. At the same time, he vigorously pushed ahead with the construction of Kim Il Sung University and other educational institutions in order to bring up scientists and technicians of working people origin.

He had research institutes, experimental stations and test and research laboratories built first for solving urgent problems arising in the building of a new society and the scientific research institutions expanded gradually in keeping with the demands of the developing realities. Under his leadership a fisheries research institute, the central mining research institute and many other scientific research institutions as well as scores of experimental stations were organized in various fields of the national economy after the liberation.

In October 1946 he convened a meeting of scientists and technicians, the first of its kind in Korea, to inspire the scientists and technicians with zeal for nation building and encourage them to turn out actively in the struggle for the building of a new society.

During the grim days of the Korean war (1950-1953) ignited by the US he put forward the proposal for the establishment of the Academy of Sciences, though he was very busy leading the service personnel and people to victory, shouldering the heavy burden of war. Pursuant of his proposal, a meeting of scientists was held in the flames of war, resulting in the founding of the Academy of Sciences (the present State Academy of Sciences) on December 1, 1952.

The founding of the academy marked a turning point in the development of science and technology in Korea. It provided the country with a reliable base to push ahead with its science and technology in a unified and coordinated way.

He gave field guidance at the academy on scores of times, illuminating the way ahead of it in each period and at each stage. Regarding scientists and technicians as the most precious treasures of the country, he took all necessary steps for the development of the country’s science.

The founding of the State Academy of Sciences and the laying of a firm foundation for developing the country’s science and technology onto world standards in a short period of time is one of the most distinguished exploits he performed on behalf of his country and people.

Korea’s science and technology which had constantly developed under the leadership of President Kim Il Sung greeted a heyday of their development under the guidance of General Kim Jong Il.

The smaller a country is, the greater efforts it must pay to developing science and technology, and develop them up onto the advanced world level by running 10 and 100 steps while others take one–this was his view and determination.

He set forth the attitude toward science and technology as a key question decisive of the destiny of the country and socialist cause, in keeping with the demand of the times when the significance of science and technology has increased and fierce competitions are waged among countries in the field of science and technology.

He visited the State Academy of Sciences in April 1995 and solved all the urgent problems arising in the development of the country’s science and technology. He made energetic efforts to bring up to the highest level all the branches of science and technology including basic sciences, electronics, information technology and bioengineering and development of new materials. In the closing years of the last century when Korea was experiencing the most trying ordeals, he had precious fund left of the country allocated to the development of CNC technology. This clearly shows how much prominence he gave to science and technology. Thanks to his tireless efforts, Korea could secure world supremacy in CNC technology.

His guidance over science and technology was geared to breaking through cutting edge not only in CNC technology but also all other branches of science and technology.

The successful launching of Korea’s first artificial satellite in August 1998 was a great demonstration of the validity and vitality of Kim Jong Il’s idea of attaching importance to science and technology.

Regarding the policy of attaching importance to science and technology as one of the three pillars for building a thriving nation in Korea, he always paid a close attention to the work of the State Academy of Sciences and set out new targets for the development of science.

When he visited the State Academy of Sciences in January 1999 as the first leg of his field guidance tour in the new year, he advanced a new task of rapidly developing the country’s cutting-edge science and technology and took necessary measures for its implementation.

He visited the Hamhung Branch of the State Academy of Sciences several times. While giving field guidance at the Bioengineering Branch in 2011, he highly appreciated the success the scientists had achieved and set new targets for them.

Enjoying his great affection and trust, the State Academy of Sciences, the highest institute of science, actively leads the development of the country’s science and reliably supports the building of a thriving socialist country with science and technology as required by the era of knowledge-based economy.

Marshal Kim Jong Un inherits the idea of President Kim Il Sung and General Kim Jong Il of attaching importance to science and technology. In his speech at the military parade held to celebrate the centenary of Kim Il Sung’s birth in April 2012, he said that single-hearted unity and invincible military might plus the industrial revolution in the new century are a thriving socialist country.

Amid the industrial revolution in the new century spreading throughout the country, Korea’s science and technology will register more brilliant successes.