South Korea’s Center for Quantum Nanoscience: The Horizon Europe Program, a major boost for Korean research in the 21st century
At the Center for Quantum Nanoscience (QNS), nestled in the hilly campus of Seoul’s Ewha Womans University, director of operations, Michelle Randall, shows off the facilities. “This is where we isolate our scanning tunnelling microscopes (STM) from any vibrations,” she says, pointing to an 80-tonne concrete damper, a mechanism that reduces interfering movements to near zero. Researchers at QNS are using STMs to image and manipulate individual atoms and molecules, chasing breakthroughs akin to last year’s assembly of a device made from single atoms that allows multiple qubits — the fundamental units of quantum information — to be controlled simultaneously (Y. Wang et al. Science 382, 87–92; 2023). The work that was done by QNS with colleagues in Japan, Spain and the United States could be used in quantum computing, sense and communication.
What gives QNS its edge, says Randall, is the diversity of teams that populate its labs. “Our composition is 50:50, South Korean and international, and we are an English-speaking workplace as a result,” she says. “We invest heavily in building relationships with our domestic scientific community and worldwide,” she adds, pointing to one room with four women — two South Koreans, one French, and one Iranian — exemplifying the collaborative spirit.
Off the back of such policy shifts, becoming the first Asian country to join the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme, the world’s largest research-funding scheme, is a major win for South Korea. Announced in March, the new partnership will drive collaborations between South Korean and European researchers in areas such as quantum technologies, semiconductors and next-generation wireless networks. South Korea is forging bilateral deals with other European countries on clean-energy technologies and basic sciences, including the opening of a joint research center with Germany at Yonsei University.
Policy changes have made this problem worse. In 2023, the South Korean government announced a cut to R&D funding by 16.7%, later winding it back to 14.7% after a widespread criticism. The spending on R&D remains at 5% of GDP, which is far above the average of 8%) in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The way cuts were implemented has an effect on young researchers that is disproportionate because they come directly from a professor’s own funding.
The number of natural-sciences articles in the Nature Index that have been co-authored by China- and South Korea-based researchers has grown considerably in recent years, up 222% between 2015 and 2023, compared with US–South Korean output, which dropped by 4% over the same period. South Korean researchers report that collaboration with China is more difficult in technology areas. According to data from South Korea’s national police agency, of the 78 cases of industrial technology leaks recorded between 2018 and mid-2023, 51 involved leaks to places or people in China. There is now also more oversight of collaborations with China than with other major research partners. “Researchers occasionally receive requests from their institutions or the government asking who is collaborating with China, says Cha. “They are aware that any collaboration may be monitored, creating a sense of censorship.”
“If the barriers are lowered and support is provided for overseas researchers to utilize South Korea’s leading research facilities and equipment, I think South Korea will become an attractive country for conducting research activities,” says Lee.
Cha highlights southeast Asia, a region that has long been of strategic and diplomatic interest to South Korea, as a place with untapped potential for joint innovation projects. “For instance, in Indonesia, there’s no governmental institution in charge of AI,” she says, which could open up the possibility of future collaborations around ethical and strategic development of AI technologies.
Given the shortages of local staff that are being recorded in strategic industries such as semiconductors and AI, it’s a problem that South Korea needs to address. Another report, by the University of Science and Technology in Daejon and the Korea Industrial Technology Association in Seoul, found that just 24% of 300 South Korean companies surveyed had foreign staff. Many believed that there was a lack of information about foreign students in the industry, suggesting that there was a problem with graduate careers.
Religious and cultural differences also pose difficulties. Muaz Razaq, a student, who left Pakistan to pursue his PhD in computer science at Kyungpook National University in Daegu, is involved in a small mosque-reconstruction project next to his university that has ignited strong opposition from segments of the local community. There are many stories of other Muslim students in South Korea who say that they are discriminated against over food choices, as well as lack of designated places for practice such as bicyle before prayers.
The role of the Korean tech industry in attracting international scientists and scientists: How do South Korean companies accept foreigners in business? A case study of Seoul Robotics
It is possible that government-funded initiatives such as the Brain Pool programme which gives PhDs access to up to 300 million won annually for three years, and Brain Pool Plus which gives outstanding researchers with experts in core technology fields up to 600 million won annually for 10 years, can happen. MSIT also plans to introduce support programmes to help new arrivals settle in and build networks.
The English-speaking work environment of a company that develops artificial intelligence-powered software has been mandated in order to attract international talent. Although many businesses in South Korea have English-speaking requirements, they are not often enforced, as stated by Evan Thomas, business development manager at Seoul Robotics. “The ability to communicate in English without constant translation and cultural interpretation has been a significant advantage compared to more traditional South Korean companies,” he says.
Cultural attitudes towards foreigners can also hinder long-term retention, says Thomas. He says that many South Koreans view foreigners as temporary visitors rather than long-term residents. According to a survey conducted by the Korea Institute of Public Administration, less than half of the respondents say that foreign nationals are welcome in South Korean society.
After completing her PhD at QNS, Hong Buu accepted a position at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in April as a graduate student. Bui cites the limited permanent career opportunities that are available to international researchers in Seoul as one of her reasons for wanting to leave, despite having a positive experience in QNS’s internationally focused environment. “South Korean companies often value overseas experience more than domestic experience, and many workplaces require Korean language proficiency,” she says.
South Korea has an uphill battle ahead of it, but its ability to adapt to change stands it in good stead, according to Hemmert. It is a question of knowing what needs to be done and having the right leadership to implement it.
The growth and development of telecommunications was dependent on the buy-in from the corporate sector. “The key incentive for companies that participated in state projects was the potential to completely dominate an industry,” says Sung-Young Kim. A few companies, including a food exporter and a construction firm were catapulted into some of the world’s most successful conglomerates by the strategy. But funds were never given freely. The president would sit in on meetings with targets to be set by companies. From 1961 to 1993 South Korea had military rule and consequences for missed targets ranged from being cut from further funding to jail time for company bosses whose performances did not match their targets.
The government can’t obtain support for long term goals because many people in South Korea are not comfortable with the idea of continuing public funding for researchers to pursue long term goals. “This is a performance-based culture, so it has been difficult for people to accept that the government should be putting money into basic science” rather than more commercial areas, he says.
There’s a fundamental issue that’s slowing innovation in research, which is the short-term nature of funding. So Young Kim says their funding programmes are usually one or three years. She adds that a heavy emphasis is placed on measuring output in terms of top-tier journal publications. New funding is based on past records if the current programme does not work out. The funding structure forces researchers to focus on quick wins.
“For really cutting-edge research, you need a more patient approach,” says Hemmert. There is an interesting point of reference in research in Japan where the same issue can be researched for decades in multi-generational labs. “Japanese scientists have picked up a good number of Nobel prizes, but South Korea has zero,” says Hemmert. Japanese scientists generally work on a specific scientific problem for a long time.
Hemmert says there is room for improvement, even though the country’s research universities rank highly in industry metrics. When it comes to implementation, they understand the need to collaborate more, yet it is a bit chequered.
The government is considering other options for encouraging young people into science, such as expanding a programme that allows men to serve out their 18–21-month-long mandatory military service by continuing to work in their university labs. “The bigger challenge, I think, is not how we design these extra benefits, but how we make studying science and technology a really fulfilling experience for those who are interested in it,” says So Young Kim. She says that students and early career researchers often feel as though they are stuck doing manual labour in the lab, rather than being taught how to conduct research, which can be very unrewarding. “We need to find that intrinsic motivation for our students. Professors need to become role models, demonstrating that through this career we live a meaningful life,” says So Young Kim.