Higher Education in the National Research System in South Korea

South Korea has accomplished remarkable economic growth and advances in scientific technology over the past few decades. The driving force of economic and scientific growth is Korea’s national research system that has evolved alongside economic development under government-driven policies. The top-down national research system promoted close collaboration between government, industry, and the academic community, and this approach enabled the efficient use of limited resources. With increasing research capabilities, labor-intensive Korean industries rapidly transformed into heavy-chemical industries and technology-based industries in a short period of time. In this chapter, we provide an overview of Korean research and development (R&D) policies, strategies, and expenditures as well as Science Citation Index (SCI) publications in Korea. Then, we review how higher education has expanded in Korea and discuss the higher education sector’s role in the national research system.