Higher education and science policy in korea: the role of kaist as a driver of structural change

Abstract

South Korea is a global benchmark in innovation, but this was not always the case. During the first half of the 20th century, the Korean Peninsula was colonized by Japan. After its liberation, the country endured the devastating Korean War (1950–1953), which left the southern part of the peninsula among the poorest regions in the world. Education was subsequently defined as a central pillar of national reconstruction. In the 1960s, South Korea set out to transform its productive structure in order to become a technology-exporting nation. Within this broader strategy, a graduate-level university focused on research and innovation was established, playing a pivotal role in that transformation: the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).

This article examines the genesis, design, and institutionalization of KAIST as a strategic response to the economic development challenges faced by South Korea in an international context favorable to the expansion of scientific knowledge-namely, the Cold War. Using a historical-institutional approach, the study highlights the role of public policy in the country’s late industrialization process, grounded in the formation of highly skilled human capital and the close articulation between the state, industry, and academia.

While KAIST offers valuable insights into how science, innovation, and higher education can be effectively integrated in development contexts, this article cautions against the assumption that the model is easily replicable beyond the specific historical and geopolitical circumstances that enabled its creation-conditions that ultimately allowed it to become one of the leading scientific institutions in Asia and the world.